Steven Universe Future: A Corrupted Identity
by Chibi Zephyr
Summary: Corrupt Steven Theory: Solving everyone else's problems is easy, but his own? Steven is far from an expert in that field. With his new power threatening to take over, he has no choice but to face his inner demons.
1. Chapter One: I'm Not Pink

_Author's Note: This story contains some small spoilers for Steven Universe Future. It is set after the events of Bluebird, so if you are behind in the series, please read at your own risk._

_When doing research, I noticed most fanfictions focused on near-immediate corruption, but this didn't sit well with me. Steven Universe is all about exploring your emotions and learning to be okay with yourself over time and I wanted my work to reflect that as much as possible._

_The entire story is done and scheduled to go up every other day. I hope you enjoy my latest plot bunny!_

**Chapter One: I'm Not Pink**

Everything was wrong, but this time, it was because of him. He needed answers, but no one could give them to him. While at first his newfound powers wowed the group and himself, he steadily grew more wary of them. In the Reef, when he lost control and let his anger overpower him, he nearly got Pearl and Volleyball rejuvenated. He caused Volleyball to cower, fearing for her safety. Fear that he too felt when he looked down and saw his pink reflection staring back at him.

Anger wasn't a new feeling for Steve, but this, this unrelenting loss of control, was.

Volleyball said it was an accident. That his mother had a temper, that her scream could shatter walls. But he wasn't her. He was himself. Steven Universe. No one more, no one less. He was better than Pink ever was.

But staring at his reflection in the cracked floor of the Reef made him less sure than ever. The fear in Volleyball's face. The look on Pearl's face when she protected Volleyball from a power she didn't know Steven had.

And that incident with Bluebird. Sure, she instigated the fight by hurting his dad, but it was he who hit her first. He didn't have the patience with her to talk her down. All he wanted to do was fight.

Sure, he could use his power to save people, to fight and make peace with gems like Jasper, to put a stop to those that wronged his family, to rescue those from mistakes he made; he could use it for good.

But Pink wasn't good. His mother, the gem who led a rebellion to save Earth and mankind from tyrants, was a tyrant herself. She was immature, always hurting those who loved her.

"No," Steven whispered to himself as he stared at his bedroom's dark ceiling. "I'm not like her."

His hand instinctively reached down to cover the gemstone in his naval as he let out a long sigh.

"I have the power to change. I can be better than she was. I can turn this into something positive," he told himself.

His mind wandered to when he and Amethyst, together as Smoky, managed to save everyone the day he royally messed up on the boardwalk with other gems. To Jasper, who enjoyed having the chance to fight again. To himself, who was so surprised about his ability to grow and change.

Yes, he thought to himself with a small smile, I can be better.

He turned over, but sleep still eluded him.

Even so…what was this pink glow? It was like nothing he'd ever felt before. Nothing he'd ever seen –

Wait.

He sat up and looked at himself in the reflection of the sliding glass door. With a quivering hand, he pulled up his shirt and looked at his gem. He had seen it before. Stony. Stoic. Devoid of sympathy.

He remembered it so vividly that he cursed himself for not thinking of it sooner. That day. In White's head. Right before she changed her mind.

****-Flashback-****

Pain. Everything he knew was pain as a high-pitched wail engulfed his senses. He was engulfed in blackness, but he felt it all. Empty. Weak. Slowly losing his grasp on everything around him.

"Steven!" A female voice cried. "Steven, wake up! Please…"

Connie. He struggled to open his eyes and focus on his friend. Her words sounded like they were coming from the end of a long tunnel, muffled and echoed.

"My…where's my…" he managed to whisper, grasping at his shirt and feeling the smooth skin underneath. His gem. Fear engulfed him when he realized what this feeling was. He needed it back. He wasn't whole. He couldn't be like this. He couldn't. He needed it.

Connie looked up, Steven's eyes following her gaze. It was there, a tiny pink spec in White's hand. Then a flash of light, a form of Pink Diamond, then Rose Quartz, then…

****-End flashback-****

It showed itself in a moment no one other than he, Connie and White were witness to. Sure, he told the Crystal Gems what happened, but they didn't see what it, what he, was capable of. With one scream, he managed to knock everyone off balance, including White Diamond herself. He blocked all of her attacks without breaking a sweat and incapacitated a room full of gems in a matter of seconds, its expression never once changing.

As much as he'd like to deny it, that pink coldness was a part of him.

If Pearl or Volleyball saw it, or if Amethyst, Garnet or Lapis knew, what would they think of him?

Steven could hear their voices now.

"What? You're just like the Diamonds!" Lapis yelled. "You can destroy things just like they did. You can hurt other gems like they did to me. You have to control it, Steven. Don't be like them!"

Or Pearl and Volleyball, making excuses for why Steven was acting like, just like they did when his mother acted out.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it," Pearl would say. "He just hasn't learned how to control it yet."

"No, not at all!" Volleyball would back her up. "It's just like Pink's tantrums. She didn't mean it and tried to fix it, just like Steven is."

Garnet would just look at him with an unreadable expression, no doubt scouring for a future that would help her understand.

Amethyst would make jokes to poorly conceal her unease.

Bismuth and Peridot would be thrilled, no doubt.

"Woah Steven, you're pink!" Yeah, that would be Peridot's' gleeful response.

"A weapon finer than anything I've ever seen," Bismuth would say after seeing his increased strength.

Steven sighed again. He didn't need to be a weapon. He never wanted to be one. He wasn't like that.

His eyes turned to the night sky and he set his face. He knew where he'd find answers. They knew her before anyone else did and wouldn't make excuses for her behavior.

He pulled himself out of bed and grabbed his jacket, which was discarded on the floor. It was time for a family reunion.

He stepped into the cold brisk air, the wind off the ocean chilled is skin, but rejuvenated him. This was his home. If Pink's tantrums put it in danger, then he needed to make peace with her.

He quickly ran over to the console and left a message to his friends, knowing they would notice the warp going off.

Going to Homeworld. I need to find out more about my mother. Be back soon.

-Steven

Yes, he thought, that would work. He didn't want to worry them and they all knew he was having trouble processing some of the things Pink did. They all knew her once, after all. He never did. He just kept hearing awful story after awful story. They would respect that.

He stepped back onto the warp and braced himself. Back to the Diamonds. Here's hoping they don't try to get him to live there. Again.

With a blast of white light, he was off.

In moments, he was back in a large opulent room. The throne room was exactly like he remembered; four thrones, each the color of the diamond who sat on it. It was empty, but Steven suspected it wouldn't be for long. A warp to Homeworld typically meant only one thing.

Sure enough, loud footsteps were heard rushing to the door, only to stop just feet before the entranceway. Steven smiled, imagining the Diamond composing herself before entering.

Yellow stepped in, her face straight, but her eyes twinkling when she looked around.

"Steven!" she cried, letting her smile break through her tough exterior. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"

"I wanted to ask you something," Steven said. "To all of you, actually."

Yellow nodded. "I'll get the others. Wait here."

"Uhh," Steve called back. "Probably don't bring Spinel just yet. I don't want to upset her. It's about mom."

Yellow nodded knowingly before she left the room.

Steven walked over to the thrones, thankful Yellow was always so brisk and to the point. The throne he refused was just as immaculate as ever. It was his throne too..

He turned away from it as more footsteps approached and shook his head, amused that the Diamonds believed he would actually use the seat.

"Steven!" White and Blue chorused as they rushed in. "How nice to see you!"

"Hey guys," Steven yelled up, craning his neck to see their faces.

All of the Diamonds dropped down so they could speak easily, surrounding him in blocks of white, yellow and blue.

"Yellow said you needed us," Blue asked, eager to be helpful.

"Yeah," Steven started, his mouth dry. "I wanted to talk to you about my mom."

The Diamonds looked at him, confused.

"About Pink?" White asked.

"Yeah," Steven said in an off-color shaky tone. "I've been thinking a lot about her lately."

He explained everything to them, from the Rose Quartzes in the Human Zoo, to Volleyball and about Spinel.

The Diamonds listened and exchanged glances every now and then, but did not interrupt.

"Steven," Blue started, looking down at him kindly. "We didn't understand Pink. You helped us do that."

"I know," Steven countered. "But you knew her. And," he stopped, looking down at the floor, his eyes avoid his own gemstone. "And she hurt people."

He took a breath and told them about his new power. About how every time he felt it, he was overwhelmed and taken over by negative emotions or backed into a corner.

White cut him off. "Steven, Pink had a temper," she said, waving her hand. "She was young and didn't know how to control herself. She learned how to and you will too. It's nothing to worry about."

"Yes," Yellow agreed with a laugh. "I remember leveling a new city development when I was younger. A bad batch of amethyst soldiers refused to shatter one that came out wrong. I was furious."

She stopped laughing at the look on Steve's face. "Of course," she quickly added. "That's something I would never do now!"

"Oh no. We've learned better, thanks to you," Blue said, her hand touching her cheek and eyes softening. "Oh, you're so much like Pink."

"No," Steven snapped, his anger suddenly bubbling at the thought of being like his mother. He wouldn't leave his friend stranded in space for 6,000 years. He wouldn't abandon his family to start a new life. He wouldn't put everyone in danger for a secret he refused to face.

That's why he was here, wasn't it? To face a side of him he didn't like? To learn about this rage and an overwhelming urge to break down and yell in frustration?

Yet the Diamonds didn't even understand it and they knew her. They knew her tantrums and had ones of their own. And they dismissed them just like they dismissed her. He should've known they wouldn't understand. But they had to. They were the only ones that could.

"I'm not like that!" Steven yelled. "I'm the one that helps the people she hurt! I shouldn't be this way! I shouldn't feel like this!"

Blue and Yellow drew back slightly and straightened up.

"And yet you sound exactly like she did," Yellow said, smiling, though there was a strain behind it. "Telling us she was something different."

"And we didn't believe her," Blue gently reminded Yellow. "We need to believe her now."

Her.

"I'M NOT HER!" Steven shouted, the red-hot feeling burning inside him stronger than ever before. He didn't notice the cracks appearing beneath his feet from his outburst. The room shook and the fissure extended up the stairs and split the pink throne, but he didn't see it.

The room shook and debris fell lightly around him, but he didn't feel it.

All he could see where the Diamonds staring at him incredulously and all he knew was that they looked at his mother this way all the time.

"Steven," Blue raised her hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't…"

Steven's gaze snapped to her face, saw her worry and concern, and then he looked down to his feet.

Pink.

"No," he whispered," taking a shaking breath. "I…I…" he stuttered, staring at his hands. "I'm sorry."

Back on the warp. He needed a moment alone. Where? He didn't know. Anywhere away from here.

"Steven, wait!" called White.

But he didn't wait. He was already gone.


	2. Chapter Two: Here in the Garden

Out of all the places, the warp had to bring him here. He took a breath, willing his shaking hands to turn their normal hue before he stepped off the warp and onto the familiar stairway.

His face twisted as he held back everything he didn't want to feel; the anger at the Diamonds for treating him like his mother, the panic at feeling something he didn't understand and the shame of running away she used to do

His eyes scanned the decrepit landscape and columns, the faded pink landscape, a broken communication device, and a small pond. Nothing changed in the few months since he was last here.

He jumped from the high steps and slowly floated down, landing near the pond and near two footprints.

This was his mother's legacy. Everything he was trying to fix was represented here in the garden. It was everything his mother tried to leave behind. Everyone she ever hurt and ran from, it was here in a bubble deep in space.

Steven glanced at his own reflection and pursed his lips when he saw his own reflection staring back. Pale, but not pink. He lifted his hands up again and examined them. His mother overcame her destructive urges and became a healer and a leader. He became both of those too, in time. So how can he just now be dealing with something so new, so unpredictable?

"Steven?" He jumped, not having noticed the warp activate behind him.

"Spinel!" he called, waving over the hesitant figure with a forced grin. "Sorry I didn't say hi earlier," he began, but she shook her head to cut him off as she approached him.

"Don't be," she said. "I get it. I was hurt by her too."

"You…you heard?" Steven questioned, looking sheepish.

Spinel nodded. "And I thought I had anger problems," she laughed slightly.

"I don't really want to talk about that," Steven said, looking away from her.

"I know," Spinel countered. "I was made for Pink to make her happy. And," she sighed slightly, "I never really could. She never wanted to talk about it either. But I never wanted to listen."

Spinel looked at her own footprints, cemented in the ground from age and smiled. "I don't know if I ever helped her, but maybe I can help you." She looked expectantly at Steven, who smiled genuinely at her.

"Sure. Thanks, Spinel."

She sat down and patted the ground next to her. "Then let's talk. About Pink."

Steven felt the uneasy burning grow inside of him at the thought of this and remained standing. Spinel smiled at him gently and nudged him.

"Come on, Universe, take a load off." She waited until he was sitting to continue. "Want to know how I knew you'd be here?"

Steven looked over at her and she smiled, looking back out of the corner of her eyes.

"Pink would run away here too," she said without hesitation, still watching him. "This place is where she could be alone and be herself when I wasn't bothering her. She could escape from it all for a moment. She could be happy, if only for a short time."

"Spinel," Steven started, unsure what to say, but he knew he had to say something. "Am I really like her?"

Spinel looked at him, her face unreadable. "Let's see," she began. "You both love singing, you're small, you hate being on Homeworld and you both look good in pink." She smiled at him, letting him know she was only kidding as if she sensed the bubbling anxiety in his stomach. "And you love like she did."

"So I really am like her?" Steven asked, grimly, clutching at the gem on his stomach.

Spinel shook her head. "Yes and no. Back on Earth, do you remember how much I sent you back?"

Steven nodded.

"You struggled, but you never abandoned me. You didn't leave your friends behind either," she said, eyes back on the sky. "So no, you're not _all _like her."

Steven looked up, watching the stars glitter above them. "Did she ever get angry at you?"

Spinel shook her head.

Steven glanced back at his reflection. "What would you do if it happened?"

"Huh?" Spinel looked over at him and immediately noticed the look on his face. "Don't worry," she laughed. "I'm not going to rejuvenate you again if you pink out on me."

Rejuvenate. He shuddered at the word. Spinel's smile faded when she saw this.

"Man, I really messed up with you, didn't I?" she asked, sadly.

"What? No, no, it's not you," Steven quickly said, shaking his hands and head. "It's just that I lost my temper when I was trying to help Volley...my mom's first Pearl fix her cracked eye. She and my mom's second Pearl were nearly rejuvenated because of me. They barely escaped."

Spinel listened intently before chuckling grimly. "Wow, so you're not done being a hero, huh?"

"What do you mean?" Steven asked, harsher than he intended.

Spinel shrugged. "You're always helping others face their problems, but you just ran from your own," she pointed out. "Have you thought about helping yourself?"

Steven sighed. "That's why I'm here, Spinel. I'm trying to figure this out!"

Spinel looked at him in a weird way. "Are you though?"

"Huh?"

She ran her fingers through the grass around them and looked up to the sky. "I went to Earth to take out my anger on people I never met. I wanted to hurt you because she hurt me," Spinel slowly started. "You came to Homeworld to figure out your mother's anger, not yours. You want to solve her problems, but she isn't you."

Steven stared at her, slowly digesting the information.

"It's your problem, Steven. Not hers," Spinel repeated, looking over at him. "Learn why you're unhappy and change it. Just don't wait 6,000 years to do it."

Spinel stood and stretched before offering her hand to Steven. He looked at it for a moment before taking it.

"You're right," he said once he was back on his feet. "It's my problem. Thanks, Spinel."

She smiled at him and pointed her thumb back to the warp. "Now are you ready to help clean up the mess you made?"

Steven laughed, embarrassed. "Yeah, let's go."


	3. Chapter Three: The Mess She Made

The scene back on Homeworld wasn't what Steven or Spinel expected. The throne room was a complete mess. The roof was blown apart, the thrones were all in shambles and the floor was cracked.

Screams of anger and bursts of colors all over. The entire room went blue and Steven fell to one knee, eyesight blurring with a flurry of tears.

Spinel stayed standing, her eyes barely watering.

"Wha-?" she asked, looking around.

The Diamonds were fighting one another, yelling over one another. The only words Steven could hear were "Pink" and his own name.

"GUYS!" Steven shouted, his voice ringing over the noise. The Diamonds stopped and stared down at him.

"Steven!" White said joyously as if nothing were wrong. "Please tell Yellow and Blue to stop acting like children!"

Blue clenched her fists. "I wouldn't be acting this way if you just listened, White," Blue stressed, her hand turning a blue glow.

Steven got to his feet, eyes still watering heavily. "What is this all about?!" he cried.

Blue waved her hand and his tears vanished, but her face remained hard. "White and Yellow don't understand you," She started, but Yellow cut her off.

"We don't want to push you away," she started, but White stepped in front of her.

"It's nothing to worry about, Steven," she assured him, though her kind tone did not reach her face. "Just a family spat."

Spinel raised her hand. "Uhh, my Diamonds?"

"SPINEL!" Yellow yelled, noticing her for the first time. "I thought I told you to stay in your chambers!"

Spinel shuffled uncomfortably. "I thought I could help," she said.

Yellow shook her head, her nostrils flaring. "Steven asked for us to come without you and you disrespected his wishes! How could you, a funny little gem, know how to help with issues this complex?"

Steven put his arm out in front of her. "She listened to me, which is more than you did!" He told the Diamonds, who huffed simultaneously.

"We're trying to help you, Steven," White said. "But it's hard when you run off like that!"

"So you start fighting with one another? That's real helpful," Steven said with an eye roll and flat tone.

"Well, I can't use my traditional way of helping, now can I?" White fired back. "You forbade it!"

Steven gave her a look. "Because taking away a gem's free will is the answer to everything."

"Steven…" Blue tried, but he wasn't done yet.

"Or making them cry," he said looking at Blue. "Or destabilizing and bubbling them," he said to Yellow.

Both Yellow and Blue looked down, shame on their faces, but their fists were still clenched.

"If you let us help you, we wouldn't be like this," Yellow said.

"So now it's my fault?!" Steven said, voice growing steadily in volume.

"Uhh, Steven?" Spinel tugged at his arm. "Maybe we should go."

He pulled his arm violently away from Spinel and stepped off the warp, toward the Diamonds. "I came here asking for help and you destroy the throne room!"

"Only after you did first," White pointed out, unhelpfully.

Steven glared daggers at her. He felt the anger growing inside him. He felt his face get hot and his arms shake, but right now, he didn't care about that. This was his problem. Just another thing he had to fix.

"So you just blindly follow whatever I do?! That's not the point of any of this!" he roared, his arms gesturing all around him. "Everything I taught you over the past 2 years about being your own gem, have you just been ignoring it?!"

"No no, Steven," Blue said, standing up straight and putting her hands in front of her. "Not all of it."

White raised her hand, her pointed stare fixed on the small human in front of her. "Steven, we do everything you ask to make you happy. Clearly that isn't working."

"Clearly," Steven huffed.

Spinel stepped closely to Steven and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Steven, uhhh, you're pink."

He looked at his hands and noticed what he already knew. But he clenched his fists. He didn't care right now. He needed the Diamonds to listen and if this was what got through to them, then so be it.

Steven looked at Spinel, who instantly retreated, eyes wide and hands in the air.

"Look, Spinel, you've upset him!" Yellow yelled. "You should have stayed out of this like I told you."

"I…" Spinel started, shifting her feet. She took a step back toward the door. "I'll go then."

"No," Steven said, reaching out to her.

"He's right," White cut him off before Steven could tell Spinel that he wanted her around. "You can't leave just yet. You need to know what happens to gems who disobey."

"What?!" Steven felt all of the color drain from his body as he rounded on White. "You can't! This isn't right."

White shrugged, her eyes glinting. "We tried your way Steven and clearly your way isn't even working for you."

Blue and Yellow looked over, horror-struck.

"Sure, we'll still let gems be who they want to be," White continued, "But not without discipline. Spinel," She turned to the quivering pink gem, "Do you understand what a Diamond needs?"

"What?" She asked, looking between White and Steven.

"Do you understand a Diamond enough to help them?"

Spinel shook her head. "But I can make you laugh. I can make you happy. I want to make you happy."

White smiled small. "I know you do. And you will, once you've learned what it's like to be a Diamond." Her eyes glowed white.

"No!" Steven ran and jumped in front of Spinel, arms spread wide and shield raised. White light engulfed the room and Steven was pushed back by the force of the blow, knocking him back into the gem he was protecting, but his shield did not waver.

"Stop, Steven!" White yelled. "She has to learn! Yellow, Blue, are you going to help or just stand there?"

"White, this isn't right," Blue tried to reason, but White pushed her back.

"Fine. Yellow. You and me. You said it yourself. Spinel needs to learn her place."

Yellow stepped up, but she looked uncertain. "Maybe we could..." Yellow began, but White had already turned back to Steven.

"Move, Steven," she told him.

Steven stared at her. After everything, he was back in this position. After everything, she's still learned nothing.

The room filled with white once more, but this time, Steven wasn't pushed back. He barely felt the impact against his shield. He waited until White stopped before glaring at her, his body still planted squarely in front of the cowering Spinel.

"After everything I've done for you," Steven hissed. "After all the joy Spinel's brought you. This is how you repay her?!"

A pink hue filled the chambers as cracks began to slowly appear under Steven's feet.

"Steven, that's enough," Yellow said. Her hand now aimed at him, though it was more defensive. "We can talk about this."

"Can we?" He shot at Yellow, his eyes still on White, who had only gotten more furious.

"Yes!" Yellow pled. "Just let us help you."

Steven's gaze left White's and he glanced at Yellow's face to see her pleading with him, but he saw her resolve. She would protect her family if she needed to. But he was her family. Spinel was her family. And White just betrayed them both.

"I wanted that," Steven growled. "But not anymore. You can't help me."

"Steven," Spinel whispered, putting her hand on his shoulder again. "We should go."

"No," Steven said. "They need to learn."

The pink hue that filled the cracking chamber turned vivid and bright. The rage emanating from Steven brought Blue and Spinel to their knees. Yellow took a small step back, but White stood tall. Steven would make them learn. This time, they wouldn't ignore him.

"Stop it! Steven!" Spinel yelled, but her voice was nothing more than a small squeal that he barely heard. Blood thundered in his ears, accompanied by a high-pitched ring and the edges of his vision faded as he stared at the Diamonds.

"You're going to pay for attacking her," he growled at White, his voice deeper than it had ever been, tainted by unbridled anger and the need to make them listen.

"What are you going to do, throw a tantrum?" White goaded, clearly out of touch with the situation. "Your mother would be proud."

At those words, Steven let out a guttural shout. White was pushed off her feet from the force of the yell, Yellow fell to her knees and what was left of the back wall was blasted off. The roof fell around them. Steven stood still, the force of his anger blocked every piece of debris from landing on him.

Spinel, who was just feet behind him, remained in the same spot, untouched. In fact, everything behind him was unscathed. Every ounce of the blast was pointed, directed straight at the Diamonds.

"Steven, don't make us hurt you!" Yellow shouted as she lifted a piece of stone off Blue. All the Diamonds stood and towered over him.

Steven's fists clenched. They still didn't get it. He didn't want a fight. He wanted to help. He wanted to make everything better. But they weren't listening. They never listened to his mom. Was he a fool for thinking they would listen to him too?

"Please, Steven, White didn't mean it," Blue said.

Steven saw their mouths moving but barely heard them. He stared at the open hole behind them. If that wasn't enough to change White's mind, nothing would be. He tried talking to her. Showed her that he wasn't Pink Diamond. He backed her into a corner and showed her that she couldn't touch him. Nothing worked.

"How can I make you understand?" Steven asked, voice shaking with too many emotions.

Blue's mouth moved, but her words didn't reach him. The high-pitched ring in his ears drowned everything out. His throat and eyes burned and his entire body quivered. He couldn't fix this. He couldn't help them. Not like this, at least.

He took a breath and tried to focus on the Diamonds.

"Please, calm down," he heard Yellow say.

He took another breath, eyes falling to the ground, but the high-pitched ring continued, his heart rate elevated more and the ground seemed to shake beneath him as he took in his shattered reflection; cold, angry and pink.

He tried to breathe normally, tried to force down his anger and think clearly, but his head only seemed to ache more each time he tried.

I did this, he thought. I am the problem. I almost hurt them. I can't stop this.

The weight on his chest grew to the point where he could no longer stand. He fell to his knees, not even aware he groaned out loud, as his fingers pulled at his hair. His breath was sporadic as he gasped for air, struggling to calm himself down.

But he couldn't.

The room spun around him, even though his eyes were closed tightly. He felt the heat from his gem coursing throughout his body and felt his foot fall as the ground beneath him began to crumble.

This wasn't like him. He needed it to stop.

"Please," he whispered. "Stop this."

The Diamonds looked to each other, and unseen by Steven, raised their hands. He saw the white light, felt the uncomfortable chills of Yellow's destabilizing ability and slowly, sorrow began to overtake his panic.

He felt his power fighting back, wanting to lash out and hurt those who were trying to bottle it all away again. But he didn't want them to hurt. He wanted his anger gone. He had to shut it down. He needed it to stop.

"STOP!" Spinel yelled.

Something hard smacked Steven across the face and everything went black.


	4. Chapter Four: Back on Earth

The light of the warp caught Pearl's attention first. She poked her head outside to watch the beam leave Earth before heading up the stairs.

"Steven, was someone here?" She peeked into the empty room. Steven was gone? Was he overpowered and taken? No, that was impossible. They would have heard a fight. Unless there wasn't a fight at all. Was he kidnapped?!

Concern filled her face and she quickly climbed the stairs and looked over to the console to see a blinking message.

_Going to Homeworld. I need to find out more about my mother. Be back soon._

_-Steven_

"Oh that can't be good," Pearl said to herself. She sighed and shook her head before turning and leaving the warp room. She nearly walked into Garnet, who was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh Garnet," Pearl said. "Steven left to visit Homeworld."

"I know," Garnet said, her face angled up at the sky. "It won't go well."

"What do you mean?" Pearl asked, concern filling her face again.

Garnet shook her head. "All the futures I see end with Steven getting hurt. But I can't tell you which one he'll experience."

"Then we need to stop him!" Pearl said frantically. She turned to run back up the stairs, but Garnet's hand enclosed around her wrist.

"Pearl," she said. "Steven needs to figure this out on his own. Besides," she looked back to the sky. "He can take care of himself. Probably."

"PROBABLY?"

"Well, there is one future where the Diamonds attack him and Homeworld is destroyed, but I'm sure he'll be fine."

"WHAT?!"

"Hey, I'm trying to sleep here," Amethyst said as she poked her head out the door. "Where's Steven?"

Garnet pointed to the sky.

Amethyst looked up. "Ah man, did he forget how to control his floating?"

"No, he's on Homeworld, which could explode!" Pearl said, frantically tugging at Garnet's unrelenting grip.

Amethyst looked between them and shrugged. "Should I be worried, Garnet?"

Garnet pursed her lips. "Hmm."

"Garnet?" Amethyst waved her hand in front of the fusion's visor.

"Yes," Garnet finally said.

"Then let's go get him!" Amethyst called, trying to move past Garnet who was blocking the stairs.

"Apparently we can't," Pearl said, exasperated.

Garnet nodded. "This is something he needs to learn himself."

"Okay?" Amethyst didn't look convinced but shrugged and turned back to the house. "Wake me up when he gets back, okay?"

Steven groaned, trying to ignore the whispers that came in and out of his consciousness, like a poorly tuned radio. He no longer heard the high-pitched ring nor felt anything beyond the tired ache, it was just like he was floating; not quite here, but not quite there.

He wished the whispers would stop, but they were slowly growing louder, keeping him from enjoying the moment of calm.

"Come on, Steven, wake up" one said. He thought he felt a hand on his face, but everything just seemed so far away. "Why did you do that?!" the voice yelled again.

A voice, too muffled to make out, said something quietly. It sounded mad, but soft, like someone in mourning.

"I don't care if you didn't want this!" The first voice yelled, this time sounding close enough for Steven to know who spoke. Spinel. "You did this!"

He needed to figure out what was happening. He couldn't just lay here. Steven slowly opened his eyes and blinked the room into focus. Spinel was crouched over him, her hand placed gently on his cheek and her face angrily pointed upwards. Steven looked over and saw the Diamonds crouching in front of the hole in the wall. The one he made.

"Steven!" It was White, her hand over her mouth when she noticed his gaze. "Steven, we didn't know, we…"

Blue cleared her throat. "Yellow and White thought we should show you what can happen if you let your anger get the best of you," she said, contempt dripping from her calming tone. "I was against it from the start."

"Wait," Steven gasped, pulling himself into a seated position, ignoring how his body screamed in protest. He glanced down to his hand while doing so, relieved it wasn't pink. "What do you mean?"

"Oh Steven, Spinel was never in any danger and our argument, well, we made it up!" White said, her hands clapping together.

"You...what?" Steven gasped, his eyes widening as he looked up at the monumental monarch.

"We thought it would do you good," White said. "If you could see what damage you can cause, maybe then you'll understand the importance in controlling your emotions."

Yellow nodded and jumped in, her finger now pointing in the air like she was lecturing Steven. "Pink never learned. She used it for herself. But you! You jumped in front of Spinel and look at her, untouched!"

Steven just stared at her, words lost.

"This is just more proof you're not Pink," Yellow said.

"Horrible proof," Blue murmured. "To put him through that. To get him to the point where we could barely stop it."

"So...it was a lie?" Steven managed to say. "Spinel wasn't in danger?"

"Of course not!" White said. "I would have missed her."

"It didn't seem that way," Spinel muttered. Steven wasn't sure she wanted him to hear that, so he resisted looking at her. "And you still attacked Steven," she pointed out, louder so the Diamonds could hear.

"It was necessary," White shrugged. "He couldn't control himself, so we needed to step in."

Steven slowly got to his feet and stumbled back a step before gaining his balance. "Thanks," he said bitterly, unable to look at the Diamonds. "I get it now."

"Steven, please," Yellow begged. "We had to! We did it to help you. A Diamond is powerful. You needed to see what you could do. Losing control here, to us, was the safest option."

Steven shook his head, his energy spent. "Yeah," he said. "Thanks for the lesson." He stood on the warp, arms shaking, but he was too empty to feel anything besides disbelief and a pang of betrayal. "I'll see you around."

He was home before the Diamonds or Spinel could say another word. He quickly stumbled over to the warp and disabled Homeworld's link for the next 24 hours.

He took a breath before heading outside and back to his bedroom. Everything was quiet and the sun was just about to breach the horizon. If he was lucky, he'd be able to get some sleep before his daily routine began.

He tossed his jacket aside and collapsed into bed. Too tired to think about what happened, he fell asleep within minutes.


	5. Ch Five: A Different Shade of Pink

He woke up and felt the warm glow of the sun on his face. The seabirds harmonized with the ocean's waves. Steven opened his eyes and stretched. He was sitting up when he remembered what happened the night before.

The rage coursing through him, burning as if his skin was engulfed in flames. The pounding and high-pitched ring in his ears that stopped him from comprehending the Diamonds words. The urge to force them to listen by any means necessary, even if it meant hurting them.

In their own way, they were right. Steven rubbed his hand over his arm as he stared, unseeing, at the ocean view. He needed to see what he was capable of. He needed to feel that way so he could never feel that way again. He could have hurt someone, or worse, without feeling any remorse for it.

Spinel has a point too. It was his problem.

"Steven? Are you up yet?"

Pearl.

"Yeah," he called down the stairs. "I'll be down in a minute." He quickly pulled on fresh clothes before walking barefoot down the stairs to meet his friends.

"Oh Steven, thank goodness!" Pearl said, clearly holding back the urge to hug him. "When you went to Homeworld, Garnet said the planet could have exploded!"

"What?" Steven said, looking at her and taking a step back out of shock. Explode? How? From him?

Pearl shook it off, noticing Steven's distress. "Oh, but it's fine! You're safe and Homeworld is still there. So," she cleared her throat, "How did it go?"

"Fine," Steven said, not meeting Pearl's eyes. "You know how the Diamonds get."

Pearl nodded. "That I do," she said. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Steven shook his head. "Nah, I'm okay. Just more stories about mom."

"Steven, your mother was complicated," Pearl began but Steven cut her off.

"I don't want to hear about her," he said stiffly. He felt the familiar warmth growing, but he suppressed it. "Not right now," he tried to redeem himself with a softer tone.

"Well, alright," Pearl said. "If you need me, I'll be with Greg learning the bass."

He didn't bother correcting her pronunciation before she left and just gave her a halfhearted wave.

"Oh and Connie is looking for you!" Pearl called over her shoulder before closing the door.

Steven perked up at hearing this. It had been a while since he'd last hung out with Connie. She was so busy preparing for college and he was hard at work with Little Home-School.

He rushed to get himself in decent shape and ran to the bathroom before heading out the door. Sure enough, Connie was sitting on the beach, waiting.

"Connie!" He called, flinging himself over the banister and down to his friend.

"Steven! Good morning, sleepyhead," she teased, a smile on her face and a slight blush in her cheeks. She leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek. Steven felt his face grow warm and a large smile form on his face.

"Uh anyway," Connie said, clearly embarrassed. "I thought you and I could hang out for the day. Catch up on everything."

"I'd love that," Steven said without hesitation. "So what did you have in mind?"

Connie smiled and took Steven's arm, leading him up the mountain to the lighthouse. They sat together, enjoying the cool breeze.

"Remember when you discovered your healing powers?" Connie said. "You literally jumped up and left me here to tell the other gems." She laughed. "I was panicking about how to tell my parents and hoping they wouldn't notice my glasses."

"Yeah, we've come a long way since then," Steven said, smiling at her. "Sorry about that leaving you, by the way."

"It's fine," Connie laughed. "It's just crazy to think about sometimes."

"Yeah," Steven agreed. "A lot has happened since then."

"Let's see," Connie recapped, holding up her fingers and ticked them down with each thing she said. "I learned sword fighting, you saved the world from a geo-weapon, we saved the galaxy from the control of tyrants, healed all the corrupted gems and are now helping gems understand who they are. And that's barely scratching the surface!

"So, now that you've saved the whole galaxy, what else can the great Steven Universe do?" Connie teased, nudging Steven with her shoulder.

"Oh, I don't know," Steven said. "Maybe I'll start working in Lars's bakery."

Connie laughed. "Oh yeah, I'm sure he'd love that. Your commute would be just popping out of his head!"

They both chuckled at the thought. Steven took a risk and leaned against Connie's side, so their shoulders were touching. She looked away, but Steven caught the pink in her cheeks.

"What about you? You've been to space, helped save Beach City and the galaxy. What's next for Connie Maheswaran?" Steven asked.

"I don't know," Connie said. "College in a couple of years, but I'm not sure where I want to go yet. So right now, I'm just enjoying Beach City while I can."

"You'll come back to visit right?"

Connie looked over to Steven. "Of course! Who else will save the galaxy with you? Just do me a favor and don't send Lion over when I'm in class. I don't think my future professor will like having a pink magical animal appear in their classroom."

More laughter, this time it lasted longer.

"What would I do without you, Connie?" he mused, reveling in the feeling of elation in his chest.

She shrugged, her cheeks oddly red. Steven jumped when he felt her fingers go over his own. He relaxed his hand and let Connie weaved her fingers between his.

"You'd probably miss me," she said.

"No, probably there," Steven breathed, oddly nervous suddenly.

Connie gave him a shy smile before leaning against him again and looking over the view of the city. They didn't talk again for a long time, even when Connie rested her head on Steven's shoulder or when Steven pulled his hand away to wrap it around her waist and held her close.

He rested his cheek on her head and smiled to himself. This was exactly what he needed.

Connie broke the silence. "So what were you doing last night? You slept in late."

Steven lifted his head from hers and avoided her gaze. Did he want to tell her?

"Steven?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Steven said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I visited the Diamonds. I needed to talk to them."

"Oh boy," Connie said. "That must have been pleasant."

Steven chuckled humorlessly. "You could say that."

"So what did they do this time?"

Steven looked to the sky. "Oh, you know," he started, struggling to keep everything in. Connie didn't know about his new power. She didn't know what he was capable of. If she found out, would she still want to be near him?

"I got a new power," he carefully began. "Something that I didn't understand how to use. I thought the Diamonds could help."

"And did they?" Connie asked, reading Steven's hesitancy correctly.

"Not really. You know how they are."

Connie nodded. "Is everything okay, though? Did you figure it out?"

Steven nodded. "Yeah, I think I got it under control."

Connie looked at him for a moment before she nodded. "Okay. If you need to talk to someone, you don't need to go to Homeworld to do it. I'm just a phone call away."

Steven smiled down at her. "Thanks, Connie."

She smiled back at him. "That's what I'm here for."

He looked over the city, an idea sprouting in his head. "Hey uhh,' Steven started, pointing his thumb sheepishly over his shoulder. "You want to go get food?"

"I'd love to," Connie said, her cheeks red again.

Steven stood and offered his hand. They were halfway down the hill, Connie's hand still in his, when they heard someone calling to them.

"Steven! Connie!"

Garnet came strolling up, looking concerned. "Steven, I need to talk to you," she said.

Steven looked at her incredulously. Really, now?

"Can it wait, Garnet?" He asked, slowly looking between the gem and Connie. Garnet stopped in her tracks and looked at them both. Steven saw her head drop as she noticed their interlocked hands and she covered her mouth.

"Oh!" She said. "We're in that timeline. Sure, Steven, go have fun. We'll talk later."

"Thanks, Garnet," Steven said, quickly pulling Connie away from her.

"I wonder what she wanted?" Connie asked, looking behind her shoulder.

Steven shook his head. "I'll find out later. Right now, all that matters is you and me. Let's go eat."


	6. Chapter Six: Garnet's Warning

Steven came home well after the sun had set. He and Connie had watched the sunset and walked along the beach, just talking, before Connie checked the time and raced home. She had pecked Steven on the cheek one last time and ran off before he could think about returning the favor.

Garnet was waiting for him inside, arms crossed and sitting on the couch. He took a breath before walking in to meet her, steeling himself for another session of her sagely advice.

"Steven, good to see you," she greeted him. "How was your date?"

"It wasn't a date!" Steven said, his face flushing.

"Oh really?" Garnet gave him a knowing smile and tiled down her visor to reveal her eyes. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, I did. Thanks for that," he said, sitting down next to her. "So what's up?"

Garnet's smile left her face. "When you went to Homeworld, I saw so many different outcomes. All of them bad," she said, looking unwaveringly at Steven. "When you came back, the futures split off with so few good outcomes."

Steven dared to look away from her.

"So it did go poorly?"

He dropped his head. "Yeah."

"Steven," Garnet put her hand on his shoulder. "I know it's not easy hearing about your mother. But you need to remember that you're not her. Her troubles are not your own anymore."

Steven nodded, resisting the urge to put his hands anywhere near his gem.

Garnet continued, "But that's not why I need to talk with you. What I saw, there were so many bad things that I didn't want to believe it was your future. And there were so many holes in it that I couldn't see at all."

Steven looked back to her, concern growing on his face

"Things I am afraid of," Garnet answered his unasked question cryptically. "Just promise me that you'll be careful."

Steven nodded. He didn't plan on being anything but from here on out. "I promise," he said.

"You know you can talk to us, right?" she added, still staring at him.

Steven shifted uncomfortably but nodded. "Yeah, I know."

"Then what's on your mind?"

He looked away from the fusion. "Nothing," he lied. "I'm fine." It was his problem; something he could control. He really didn't want them to worry over nothing, after all, he knew how they would react. It would just be another problem he would have to fix.

"Hmm," she was unconvinced.

"This new power," Steven started, looking at his hands. "I'm just trying to figure it out."

Garnet put her hand back on Steven's shoulder. "I remember when you were just a little boy, struggling to summon his mother's shield. You've come such a long way and grown so much in the past few years. I know you'll learn how to control this too."

"Thanks, Garnet," Steven said.

"Oh, and one more thing, Steven," she said as Steven moved to get off the couch. "It was totally a date."

Steven walked quickly to his room, knowing his face was red and collapsed face first on his bed. What a day. His face, though buried in his pillow, was smiling hugely as he remembered how Connie's hand felt in his. He always wondered about the two of them but never knew how to approach it.

He should have kissed her. That would have made tonight perfect.

"Next time I see her," he vowed to himself. "Next time, I'll do it."

"Do what?" Steven jumped out of his skin when a raspy familiar voice met his ears.

"Amethyst!" he said as the purple gem slid into his room from the balcony. "What's up?"

She plopped on the corner of his bed and looked over at him. "Not much dude, just finished covering for you in Little Home-School."

"Oh no," Steven groaned, hands covering his hand. "Amethyst, I'm so sorry, I completely forgot."

Amethyst shook her head and smirked. "It's all good, dude! You needed a day off, especially after spending time with the Diamonds. Just don't leave me hanging for the graduation tomorrow. You know I'm not good with speeches."

"I promise," Steven vowed, sitting up and trying to repress his smile.

"You're in a good mood," Amethyst commented, her hand going to caress her chin. "Good day?"

"You could say that," Steven answered, laughing. "I was with Connie."

"Ohhhhh," Amethyst happily explained, leaning forward in excitement. "Tell me everything. Did you guys, ya know, make it official?"

"No!" Steven said, waving his hands, feeling the blush rising in his face again.

"Why not?!" Amethyst whined. "You guys are like perfect for each other."

Steven shook his head. "We were just hanging out, Amethyst!"

She eyed him skeptically. "Okay, keep your secrets," she said, playfully. "But since you're not telling me about you and Connie, you gotta tell me about the Diamonds."

"I'd rather talk about Connie," Steven said, sheepishly.

"Nu-uh, you had your chance, dude," Amethyst said, leaning back and looking at him. "So Homeworld. It didn't blow up?"

Steven shook his head. "Why would it have exploded?"

Amethyst shrugged. "I don't know, man. You know how Garnet is with her predictions lately. It's been 'stuck in a garbage disposal' or 'hit by a car.' Nothing good, ya know?"

Steven chuckled. "I have noticed that," he said, thinking about the fiasco of Garnet's Home Safety Seminar without Sunstone's help. "We just must be doomed!" he joked, though his humor wasn't fully present.

Amethyst chuckled. "Heh, yeah. What else is new though? We'll always be here to pick up the pieces."

Steven nodded.

"Soooooo, Homeworld?" She prodded, poking Steven in the arm. "Tell me all the details."

Steven looked away, shrugging. "Nothing really happened. Just more stories about mom. I thought the Diamonds would help me understand my new power, but you know how they are."

Amethyst nodded. "But do you really need to understand it? Dude, we saved a rollercoaster full of people and were moving so fast that time nearly stopped. It was so cool!"

Steven nodded, forcing a smile. "I just want to be sure it's not something more," he said. "I've used it before with fighting Jasper and Bluebird, but it felt different then."

Amethyst shrugged, unconcerned. "You'll figure it out, dude. You always do. At least you look good in pink!"

Steven nodded, forcing a smile. "Yeah, that's true."

Amethyst shifted, looking at him. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Huh?"

She looked closer at his face. "You seem...ah, forget it. I'll get you to talk later. What about Connie! How is she? Are you guys like, a thing now?"

Steven buried his face in his hands and groaned. "Amethyst," he whined. "We're just friends!"

"Yeah, for now," she teased. "Tomorrow? Who knows!"

Steven threw his pillow at her, smirking slightly. Amethyst stuck her tongue out at him and got up, shrugging as she walked out of his room.

"I'm just saying, dude," she said before leaving.

He shook his head and looked around his room. Pictures of Connie were scattered all over, as well as moments from his past. Connie was right. He has come a long way. This was just one more hurdle he had to overcome. He could handle this.


	7. Ch 7: Little Home-School Graduation

Steven got up bright and early to finalize today's big event. Little Home-School's first graduation! He smiled at the clear sky and nodded to himself. Today was the day. Everything he's been working toward was about to be over — a huge class of gems were ready to begin their life on Earth, outside of Little Homeworld if they wanted to, and were ready to begin their lives and individuals.

He sprinted outside, hopped in his car and headed off to the school. Beach City was still quiet; only the Big Donut's lights were on at this early hour. At Little Home-School, the Crystal Gems were busy putting up banners, balloons and setting up folding chairs.

"Hey, guys!" Steven called as he jumped out of his car and ran over to them. "Looking good!"

"Steven!" Peridot ran over. "Do you need me to throw flowers before the ceremony?"

Steven chuckled to himself. "No, Peridot, not this time. Just make sure everyone gets here on time, okay?"

She saluted and ran off, no doubt to go bang on doors to rouse gems.

He looked over and watched Lapis lower one of the banners between two buildings while Bismuth hung it. It read, "Congratulations! You did it!" Lapis waved to Steven and Bismuth turned and smiled, her hands too busy to do anything else. He returned both gestures before walking over to Pearl, who was looking over a checklist.

"We got everything?" Steven asked, peering over the corner of the paper.

"Looks like it!" Pearl announced. "Amethyst and Greg are getting the catering a little later and Garnet is nearly done with the stage!"

Garnet gave a thumbs up after putting a large decorative rug over the warp.

"This is going to be awesome," Steven said, looking over the scene. "Our first graduation ceremony."

"You ready for it?" Pearl asked, glancing down at the young adult. "Speech all ready?"

Steven nodded. "I got this," he said confidently. "I'm going to check in with Amethyst. Let me know if you need anything!"

The hours sped by as Steven ran between each project, helping everyone set up and decorate. Before he knew it, the chairs were filled with gems and it was time.

He stepped onto the warp, which served as their stage, and cleared his throat. All of the gems in the crowd, including Padparadscha , Larimar, Snowflake, looked over to him.

"When most of you first came to Earth, your goal was to take over the planet," Steven said, looking softly at every gem. "And some of you can here to be free. Whether you were made here or traveled here, you all suffered at the hands of the Diamonds. But things are different now. Now, Earth is a place where you can be free and where you all can be yourselves.

"By graduating Little Home-School, you've accepted yourself and learned to love who you are," Steven continued. "You've all grown so much since I first met you and I couldn't be prouder to call you all my friends.

"Congratulations to everyone! You did it," he smiled, opening his hands. "To the first graduating class of Little Home-School!"

The gems cheered, clapping and putting their hands in the air. Pearl called out their names and handed them homemade certificates, courtesy of Lapis and Peridot, and the gems shook Steven's hand, one by one.

"Thank you, Steven!" Larimar said. "I like the cheers, almost as much as I like screams!"

"We'll work on that next," Steven told Larimar, laughing nervously.

"Work on what?" The ice gem said before Pearl ushered her off the stage.

Everything was going smoothly until the last row of gems stood to receive their diploma. A shadow fell over them, blocking out the sun. Everyone looked up nervously.

"What's happening?" Pearl asked. "Is that the Diamonds?"

Steven strained his eyes and made out a green diamond-shaped spaceship. "That's not the Diamonds," he said. "Everyone, get inside!"

A loud voice boomed above them "OFF COLORS! I finally found you! Return my Sun Incinerator!"

"Steven?" Amethyst yelled, pulling out her whip as the other gems scattered to get to safety. "Who is that?"

"Emerald," Steven yelled. "Lars stole her ship to get home a couple of years ago."

"Captain Lars, you have five seconds to surrender my ship before I blast your base to the stars!" Emerald bellowed.

"Emerald!" Garnet yelled, her voice booming over Emerald's cackles. "Stand down!"

"Who are you? Another off-colored gem? More reason for me to blow this place off the face of the universe!" Emerald bellowed.

"Keep her busy. I'll find Lars!" Steven told the gems, who nodded in unison, their faces set. Pearl and Amethyst took hands and began to fuse while Steven turned his back on the fight and walked closer to Lion, whose eyes were fixed on the sky.

"Hey buddy," Steven said. Lion bent down and allowed Steven to crawl into his mane. The teen wasted no time and ran over to Lar's pink tree before diving down into the sea of pink hair.

"STEVEN!" Lars cried when Steven popped out of his hair. "Emerald's here!"

"Yeah, I know," Steven said. "She wants her ship back."

"It's been over two years!" Lars yelled, hands in the air. "Give it a rest, lady!"

Steven sighed. "Well, she's going to destroy the city if we don't give it back to her."

"But..." Lars said, clearly fighting with his pride.

"Lars!" Steven shouted as a blast of white light ricocheted off of Emerald's ship. Opals' arrows weren't even making a dent. "Where's the Sun Incinerator?"

Lars pointed his thumb behind him. "The Off Colors parked it behind my shop this morning. She must have been close enough to track it."

"HAHAHA!" Came a cold laugh from above them. "You can't surprise me like that again, Off Colors! I came prepared!"

Lars sighed before he gestured Steven to follow him behind his bakery. The Sun Incinerator barely fit in the back alley, but it was still in pristine condition. "I keep telling them not to park it here," Lars grumbled as he struggled to squeeze between the ship and the wall.

"You have three seconds! I want my ship!" Emerald shouted.

"Yeah, yeah," Lars said, waving her off. He opened the hatch, it just barely scraping against the brick wall. In seconds, the ship was lit up and turned on. "There."

"AHA! I see it! My ship!"

"Right on cue," Lars said, rolling his eyes from inside the cockpit. "You coming, Steven?"

Steven hopped into the ship and looked around. It was exactly the same as he remembered it. Lars picked up his old cape, which was discarded on the captain's chair, and flung it around his shoulders. He walked slowly over to the front console and hit a couple buttons.

"Thank goodness they taught me how to fly this thing," he muttered to himself before slowly making the ship rise. Lars pulled up the communicator and Emerald's face appeared. "Hey Emerald, long time no see," he said, nonchalantly.

"Captain Lars," she sneered, joy on her face. "You eluded me for so long, but my scanners finally picked up my precious Sun Incinerator this morning. The Diamonds may be protecting Earth, but I want my property back!"

Lars glanced back over his shoulder to Steven and smirked. He threw back his cape and dramatically pointed behind him. "Well this ship is escorting a Diamond right now," he said, cockily. "So maybe you need to rethink your strategy."

Emerald gasped, taken aback when she saw Steven.

"Hi Emerald," he said, unenthusiastically.

"You!" She said. "You're the reason why my glorious fleet isn't respected by all gems! We used to be so powerful, so feared! No one dared to cross us! And now...now we're being made a fool of by a human!"

"Do you want your ship back?" Steven dryly asked the gem, who looked shocked at the straightforward request.

"I...uh...yes!" she finally stammered out. "Fly it over to me. My crew will board and you will be taken hostages!" She cackled while Steven and Lars exchanged glances.

"Do you really want the Diamonds to hear you kidnapped the savior of the galaxy?" Lars goaded Emerald, his hands now on his waist. "I thought you were smarter than that, Emerald."

Emerald huffed. "I don't listen to the Diamonds anymore!" She said, though her voice was quivering. "I make my own decisions! Isn't that what the great Steven Universe wants from us?"

Steven rolled his eyes and a twinge of annoyance was beginning to creep into his posture.

"Emerald, take your ship and leave," he told her. "Lars, fly it closer to her and open the door for her crew."

"What?" Lars said, muting the call so Emerald couldn't hear them. "Steven, you're just going to let her win?"

Steven looked up at Lars and gave him a hard look. "There's no point in fighting her."

"But I like this ship!" Lars said. "And the Off Colors and I were going to help gems on other planets!"

Steven just stared at Lars, trying both to digest the news of Lars wanting to leave and of him fighting against a gem they couldn't beat.

"Fine," Lars finally grumbled in response to Steven's look. "But if she does anything funny, I'm taking it right back down."

The Sun Incinerator slowly rose hundreds of feet above Beach City before stopped. The two were looking right down the front of Emerald's giant warship before Lars opened the main door.

He walked back to the console to reactivate the call, but his hand froze and eyes widened.

"Steven," Lars said. "Her weapons are powering up."

"What?!" Steven said, rushing over.

"HA!" Emerald shrieked, her face suddenly appearing in front of them. "I would never use a ship that's been tainted by off-colored gems! I'll be a hero again! I'll end Steven Universe's reign of terror and stopped Captain Lars's strings of theft!"

"Emerald!" Steven yelled at her face on the large screen. "You don't have to do this!"

"Steven, we need to move!" Lars said.

"No! We move and she'll hit Beach City!" Steven told Lars, pointing to their home behind them.

Lars looked startled. "So what, we just let her hit us?"

Steven ran to the open door and looked around. His heart was racing. He needed to get them out of here. The quad blasters blinked, fully charged and ready to fire.

Steven reached out his hand to Lars. "Grab on!"

The pair jumped, seconds before Emerald blasted their ship from the sky. Steven clutched on to Lars with one arm and formed a pink bubble around them. Debris knocked against him as the pair fell quickly down and landed on the beach in a huff, unharmed. The bubble popped on impact.

"My ship!" Lars yelled, watching the smoke slowly clear from his knees. "I hope she's happy," he grunted as he glared. "Wait, what is she doing?"

Emerald's ship turned to face them on the beach. "You were supposed to die!" she yelled, her voice booming across the open ocean. They both heard the sound of her blasters charging again.

"Steven..." Lars said, uncertainly. "What do we do?"

He turned his shield to the sky. "Stay behind me!" he told Lars. "The other gems will be here to help soon."

"Can you stop that blast?"

He didn't have time to answer. Emerald fired again. The shots hit Steven's shield like a truck. His shield shattered and he was flung backward and landed hard on the sand. All of the wind was knocked out of him and his ears were ringing from the impact.

"Steven!" Lars leaned over him and helped him sit up. "Are you okay?

"The great Steven Universe! Taken down by an Emerald!" The green gem laughed as she aimed once again. "Captain Lars, it's been fun."

"Come on, Steven," Lars said, pulling him back to his feet and helping steady him. "Do you have a plan?" Lars asked, standing to face the blasters. "We can't let her hit the city. And I don't exactly want to die. Again."

Steven looked skyward, his face set. He was tired of fighting gems that he barely knew. Tired of them trying to kill him. Tired of being belittled. He felt the warmth growing in his gem as he stared at Emerald's ship. Opal's arrows couldn't touch it. But then again, Opal wasn't a Diamond.

"Stand back," he told Lars. He planted his feet and took a breath, allowing the warmth he had been feeling to spread over him.

"Woah," Lars breathed as he witnessed a pink glow engulf his friend.

Steven leaped into the air at a speed Lars didn't think was possible as Emerald fired her next four shots from the imperial warship's quad blasters. He soared up, met one of the four blasts head-on and knocked it away with his shield. It bounced away, harmlessly zooming off into space before the friction against the cold air caused it to explode.

Steven changed his direction and the second blast met the same fate. And the third.

When he got to the fourth, he turned his body to face Emerald's ship. His shield met the blast and knocked it squarely against one of Emerald's four guns. The ship wobbled and flew off a few hundred feet before it turned to face Steven.

The teen smirked and propelled himself forward. He landed hard on the top of the ship, right in front of Emerald herself. His feet dented the hull and the edge of his shield slammed into the side, cutting it open and getting stuck before he dissipated it with a snap.

Emerald jumped backward, shock covering her face.

He bent down and knocked on the glass, waving almost tauntingly as the pink glow slowly faded from his skin.

"What is he...?" He heard Emerald breathe in shock, unaware she was still talking into her communications device. "Retreat!" She yelled. "Get us out of here!"

The ship suddenly zoomed out from under Steven's feet, causing him to lose balance and fall back down to Earth. He landed lightly, hands in his pockets as he watched the warship speed off into space and vanish in a small burst of light.

"Steven!" Lars said, running over to him. "What was that?!"

He smiled over at Lars and shrugged. "New power," he said.

Lars shook his head and put his hand on Steven's shoulder. "I thought we were toast for a second there," he said. "I should have known you were holding out on me."

"Steven!" The Crystal Gems were finally within earshot, running down to meet them. "Are you okay?" Pearl asked, pulling him in for a hug.

"Yeah, we're fine," Steven said. "Are you guys alright?"

"Everyone is fine, thanks to you," Garnet said. "Emerald won't be coming back after that. Good job, Steven."

"Yeah, dude!" Amethyst said excitedly. "You were amazing!" She pulled out her hand in front of her and formed it into a shield. "Boom denied!" She recreated Steven knocking away the blast. "Boom! Gone! A third one?! No problem!"

Steven laughed, a hint of relief breaking through. "I'm just happy no one got hurt," he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I'm sorry about your ship, Lars."

Lars looked back to the rapidly dissipating cloud of black smoke. The only thing left of the Sun Incinerator were a couple of larger chunks, embedded deeply in the sand or lost in the ocean depths.

"It's okay," Lars said. "That chapter of my life is behind me anyway. "And," he twirled around. "We saved the cape."

They all laughed before saying their goodbyes. Steven and the gems headed back to Little Home-School to check on the other gems. He was met with more cheers and applause.

"That was the best explosion I've seen," Larimar said, clapping. "Good way to celebrate!"

Bismuth stepped forward and clapped Steven on the shoulder. "Good job, Steven. Can I suggest some modifications to your shield? They could really compliment the new pink you."

Steven put his hands up and backed away. "No thanks, Bismuth, I'll pass."

She shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Peridot and Lapis came over next. "Steven, you were incredible!" Peridot yelled.

Lapis looked at him funnily. "Just like a Diamond," she said, nodding.

"Well, you know," Steven said, his hand instinctively covering his gem. He laughed it off and Lapis smiled.

He checked on everyone before slipping off to head home alone. His hand was still covering his gem. When he got to his front steps, he sat on them and let out a long sigh before he allowed himself a small smile.

He didn't lose control. He could do this.

Just like he could do something else. With a surge of nerves mixed with confidence he pulled out his phone and texted Connie.

"Emerald came back. We're all fine. Talk it about over dinner on Friday?"

Connie's reply was nearly immediate, like she had been waiting to hear from Steven. "It's a date."


	8. Author's Note - Chapter Seven is Fixed!

Hi guys! I just wanted to drop an author's note in here so you are all notified that I fixed Chapter Seven. I don't know why it turned into code, but it should be readable now. Sorry about that!

-Chibi


	9. Chapter Eight: A Prickly Situation

The sun was shining, Beach City was bustling on a busy Thursday and the gems just finished cleaning up what was left of the Sun Incinerator from the beach. Everyone was settled into their new jobs or off exploring the world. Everyone except for Steven, who was sitting in the warp room, tending to the pot of roses and pink hibiscuses.

For the first time in his life, he didn't have any responsibilities. There was no one to save, no one to change. Time was on his side and he could do whatever he wanted.

"Hmm," he said, looking around the room with a watering can in hand. "Maybe this room could use more green and less," he glanced over to the flowers next to him, "pink."

He went down to the temple and found Amethyst sitting at the bar top.

"Hey Amethyst," he said, walking over to her. "I'm thinking about redecorating the warp room. Got anything in your room you want displayed?"

Amethyst rubbed her chin. "Maybe? Let's look!"

The pair entered her room in the temple and looked over the monumental stacks of knick-knacks and old items.

"There's gotta be something here," Amethyst said. "Did you have anything in mind?"

Steven nodded. "Maybe something to replace the rose bush? Something that's more us, you know?"

Amethyst looked around. "Uhh, all I have is this cactus," she said. She summoned her whip and used it to pull over a small potted plant. "It's literally the only thing I've been able to keep alive," she laughed.

Steven took the small dingy plant from her and nodded. "It's resilient," he said. "I like it. Thanks, Amethyst."

"Sure," she said. "Need anything else?"

"Do you have a bigger pot for it?" Steven asked, looking down at the sorry little plant.

"I have everything, dude," Amethyst said.

Together, they picked out a good-sized pot for the cactus and Steven hefted it over his shoulder as they left the temple.

"Thanks, Amethyst!" he called before he climbed the stairs back to the warp room. The cactus was brown in some spots but still had some green. It was small and collapsing in on itself.

Steven set the empty pot down and carefully scooped some of the dirt from the rose's pot into the empty one. He then uprooted the cactus and gently placed it in the pot before going for a little more dirt to cover its base.

"Ouch!" He retracted his hand from the base of the rose bush, shaking it.

He glared at the thorn before looking down at the small drop of blood left on the outside of his pointer finger. How fitting, he thought bitterly. The rose bush wouldn't let him get rid of it without a fight. He watched the little drop of blood roll down his hand before he kissed the injury away.

He looked back down to the small cactus and continued to re-pot it slowly. His mind wasn't on the dirt that was slipping through his fingers, though. It was on Volleyball and Pearl, who had been hurt by someone who hid its thorns, to his dad, who lost someone he never really knew, and to him, who carried the same thorns and refused to let them grow.

Steven sighed heavily, his hands resting on the edge of the pot. "How did she do it?" he asked no one, his eyes on the ceiling of the dome. "Lie and hurt them and then move on like nothing was wrong. Did she even realize she was going to hurt people?"

He looked down at his covered gem and shook his head. "I doubt she did," he said slowly. "It's not like I can ask of the gems about it." He exhaled and looked to the door. "Pearl would blame herself, Garnet would have some sage advice about futures I couldn't understand and Amethyst would try act mature about it, even though she wouldn't know what to say. It would be a joke to her."

Steven shook his head again before looking back to the cactus.

"At least I'll know that you'll hurt someone," Steven mused out loud. "You show everyone what you're made of. A tough little guy like you just wants to survive," he said, painfully aware that he was talking to a plant. "So special care needs to be taken."

He formed a small pink bubble around the tip of his index finger. He licked the top of it and touched the cactus lightly. The bubble popped on impact, but the deed was done.

A small circle of light formed. The brown spots changed into green as the plant righted itself and began to grow new branches and a stronger base. It grew until it was taller than Steven and stopped, standing proud and healthy.

Steven smiled.

"There we go!" he said. "Good as new!" He stood up and brushed off his hands and turned to pick up the roses to dump them outside of the dome. A low warning grumble from behind him. He whirled around and saw nothing.

"Hello?" he called, stepping forward. "Is someone there?" As he was peering around the cactus, something green smacked him back, leaving his cheek stinging painfully.

Steven gasped, feeling fear and doubt creep up inside him as the cactus turned and looked at him. It has his face. On every branch, he could make out curves that looked like his hair, and openings that showed pointed teeth.

"What," he whispered, looking at it. He hasn't brought plants to life like this since Pumpkin and after seeing the poor plant on its deathbed, he vowed to never create sentient life again. So how did this happen?

"Hey there," he said, cautiously, reaching out his hand as a gesture of peace. The cactus growled again, twisting violently as it tried to hit him again. "It's okay," Steven tried to reassure it. "I can help you."

He paused and put his hand to his chin. What did a cactus need? He glanced at the warp and snapped his fingers.

"I know!" he said, "The desert!" He slowly approached the plant, dodging out of the way of its twisting branches and snapping mouths. "You'll love it. Just let me take you there."

Steven grabbed the pot and the entire plant shuddered, twisting and baragging the teen with painful pricks. Its teeth latched onto his hand and got stuck, trying to pull away.

"Stop that!" Steven said, nearly dropping the pot as he got onto the warp pad. "I'm trying to help!"

The plant didn't listen and continued to thrash against Steven until he set it down in the hot desert sand. He backed away slowly and stiffly, his hands a scratched mess and his hair tangled with spines and dirt.

The cactus turned its many faces to the sun and stopped moving as it took in its new surroundings.

"There," Steven said. "See? I'm a friend."

It whipped around and shouted unintelligible nonsense at him that sounded far from a thank you. It pulled at itself, trying to break out of the pot.

"Hey, stop that!" Steven said, stepping forward again. The plant, of course, didn't listen. As it struggled, one face stared at Steven, eyes clearly watching his movements as he tried to get close and shielding himself from its attacks with his hands.

The cactus shuddered and roared. Steven stood back in horror and watch five arms form. It grabbed the edge of the pot and the ground and pulled.

Finally, it uprooted itself.

Steven took a couple of steps back, his feet hitting the edge of the warp pad. The cactus pulled itself onto the scalding sand and turned to Steven, its roots curling from the heat and pulling together to form three legs.

"Uh, hi," he said, uncertainty.

It roared at him and lunged forward.

"Of course," Steven sighed, his shield already out to block the plant's charge. The top of the plant rammed against his shield again and again. Its third arm reached around, grabbed his shield and yanked the teen forward. Steven tumbled into the sand.

"Why?!" Steven asked, pulling himself up and narrowly dodging one of the many branches as it tried to slam against him.

He pulled his shield back and slammed it down on one of the cactus's legs, making a deep cut in it. The cactus roared in agony and drew back, its arms flailing forward and scraping against Steven's chest. He heard the tearing of fabric before he was able to back away.

"I'm sorry! I don't want to hurt you!" he told the cactus, aware that it didn't seem to understand him. It reared its crowned back and shrieked. It raised its largest fist and threw a punch at him, but missed.

"Will you just stop!" Steven yelled, the sun finally causing his skin to feel warm. The cactus lunged again, but this time, its arm met the edge of Steven's shield. Steven violently pulled his arm away. The cactus shrieked in pain and drew back rapidly from Steven, it's now severed arm wriggling on the ground. Steven watched it turn brown and wither.

"I…," he said, looking at the plant, which was not desperately trying to get away from him. "I didn't mean to."

The cactus continued to pull itself forward, roots gathering sand. "Wait!" Steven called. "Let me help you!" he reached out his arm in desperation and immediately froze. It wasn't the sun heating his skin after all.

The cactus stopped and shuddered, it's hand reaching, but it couldn't continue to pull itself forward. It looked at Steven and he saw his own face staring at him in horror. The teen slowly walked over to it, his guilt growing with every step. He stepped over the legs. The injured one was slowly turning brown and shriveling in the heat.

He could save it, but did he want to?

He looked at the plant and it started back, lashing out weakly at him like an animal backed into a corner.

He did this.

Steven raised his shield and brought it down on its other leg, effectively severing the roots. The cactus bucked once and quickly turned brown. When he stood up, it was no more than a husk of a dead plant.

He let out a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. The heat from his skin faded.

"I'm sorry."


	10. Chapter Nine: It's Nothing

He was sitting with his back against the wall of the warp room, his hands still bleeding slightly, dirt-caked his hair and spines were caught in his torn shirt. His eyes were fixated on the small, cracked and discarded pot that the cactus originally lived in.

Thoughts raced through his mind, but not one was coherent. The emotions that surged with them were. He didn't mean any of it. The cactus was only supposed to thrive, not become sentient. He was supposed to help it, not hurt it. Heal it, not make it worse. Even before he lost control, it wanted nothing to do with him. It was violent. Animalistic. Like it didn't know it's purpose.

Sure, the Watermelon Steven formed a warrior tribe after he led them to fight Malachite, but this was different. They were peaceful at first and then grew into their own tribes. Pumpkin was a sweet pet too.

Did he do something wrong? Was he just not focused enough on what he was doing? He looked to the rose bush. Would those attack him too if he tried to heal a drooping bud?

The warp pad activated and Steven jumped, he quickly brushed off his shirt and tried to clean out his hair before the light faded. A small silhouette formed and suddenly, she was there.

"Spinel," Steven said, relieved.

"Steven!" She smiled, but it faded when she saw that state he was in. "Did that rose plant beat you up or something?"

Steven chuckled lightly, his hand grabbing his elbow in a guarded way. "Something like that," he said, not wanting to go into it. "What's up?"

Spinel hopped off the warp. "I wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine," Steven said, though the second word got caught in his throat.

"Mhmm, sure," Spinel said, leaning over and peering at him. "What's wrong?"

Steven sighed and leaned back against the wall once more. "I'm just tired of gems trying to kill me," he bluntly stated, avoiding anything about his new power. "Last week it was Bluebird, yesterday it was Emerald, today it was a feral cactus," he listed. "Who's next?"

"I don't know who those are," Spinel said. "What's a cactus?"

"Oh, right," Steven said, laughing slightly. "Just gems who are resisting change. A cactus is a plant."

Spinel nodded to show she understood. "Some gems just want to get their anger out and you're the perfect target. I would know," she joked, her thumb pointed at her chest. "I bet you proved them wrong."

Steven shook his head. "Two of them flew off into space yelling that I smelled and the other retreated after I nearly destroyed her spaceship."

"Sounds like a typical day for you," Spinel said, nudging Steven.

Steven sighed and gently pushed the pink gem's arm back. "Spinel, I appreciate you checking in on me, but I'm fine. I just want to be alone right now."

Spinel deflated, almost literally. Her posture fell and her arms and shoulders dropped to the floor. "I'm just trying to be a friend," she said, her eyes begging Steven.

"Okay, fine, fine," Steven said, throwing up his hands. "But please, don't mention any of this to the other gems. I don't want them to worry."

Spinel smiled and bounced back to her original shape. "If they ask, I'll just say we were playing a game!" She said, picking up dirt and smearing it on her cheek. She winked at Steven, who managed a real smile.

Steven led her down the stairs and back into his room. He quickly changed his shirt and Spinel helped him pull out any prickers left in his hair.

"Hey," she said, pulling her hand away from Steven's arm. "What's that?"

"What?" He looked down at his arm and saw a small purple-ish mark on it, just above his elbow. "Oh, that's just a bruise. It's something humans get when they're hurt," he explained. "It's really nothing to worry about. They heal pretty quickly."

He pulled his jacket over it.

"Aren't you going to heal it? Or your hands?"

Steven looked down at the long red scrapes on his hands and hid them in his jacket pocket. "Nah," he said. "I need to learn my lesson about fighting with plants."

"Or the plants need to learn to not fight with you," she said, jovially.

"Yeah, that too," Steven said, rather grimly. He cleared his throat. "So, do you want to talk about anything?"

Spinel put her finger to her chin and thought. "The Diamonds won't shut up about you. The throne room is being repaired," she said. "So everything is pretty much normal."

Steven rolled his eyes at this news but didn't say anything.

"So, how about you?"

"I'm fine," Steven said, a little too quickly.

Spinel eyed him. "Someone who fights with plants isn't fine," she pointed out.

"It's nothing, Spinel, I promise."

She crossed her arms and looked at him skeptically. "If it was nothing, then Blue wouldn't be giving Yellow and White the cold shoulder and the throne room wouldn't be destroyed."

Steven avoided her gaze, feeling his face flush.

"I'm fine, Spinel. I'm just tired, that's all."

"Of gems trying to kill you?" She pushed on. "Yeah, I heard that part. What else?"

"Nothing," Steven lied through gritted teeth, trying to relax his fists, which were curling tighter and angering the scratches.

Spinel continued to give him that same skeptical stare that sang of disappointment.

"You heard it all before," Steven said, struggling to keep his voice low. "But I'm learning how to control it. I don't need help. I'm fine."

Spinel sighed and stepped over to Steven. She placed her hand on his shoulder and looked at him.

"It's okay if you're not fine," she told him, her eyes soft. "Who am I going to tell? The Diamonds? We both saw how they handled that situation. My lips are sealed!" With that, she literally flattened out her lips and tied them together, her eyes sparkling with the joy of the joke.

Steven shook his head. The ringing was back in his ears and his heart was thudding in his chest. He tried to calm his breathing. He could control this. He just needed Spinel to accept that he was okay.

"Spinel, please stop," he said.

The pink gem untied her mouth and shook her head. "I know you're hurting," she started. "What kind of a friend would I be if I just ignored that?"

Steven looked at her, some of his anger fading at her words, but it ignited fiercely at the look of sympathy and pity on her face.

"I don't need help," he stated, coldly.

"Steven," Spinel said, her hand going to his shoulder again.

"I'm fine!" He yelled at her, pushing her away from him. She stumbled back and slammed into the wall, the force shaking his photos.

"Watch it!" Spinel said, brushing herself off. "I'm trying to help!"

"Steven?" came Pearl's voice from below. "Is everything okay? Who's with you?"

Spinel looked over her shoulder and glanced back to Steven.

"Yeah," he called back down. "Yeah, everything's okay! It's just Spinel."

"Well, alright," Pearl called back down. "If you need us, just shout. Again."

Steven looked back at Spinel. "Just go, Spinel."

The pink gem sidled to the sliding door and looked back at Steven once again. "You didn't turn pink," she noted. "Maybe you are getting better." And then she was gone.

Steven fell onto his bed, his arm over his eyes. He didn't even apologize to her. At the time, he didn't want to, but as soon as she left, guilt overcame his frustration. She was just trying to help and he pushed her away.

He sighed and eyed his inflamed hands, which shook every so slightly. He shoved them back into his jacket pocket, ignoring the sting as the torn skin brushed against the lining. His arm ached where the bruise was, but he didn't pay much attention to it either.

His heart was still pounding and his head was beginning to ache from the loud ringing in his ears. A weight settled on his chest and he closed his eyes, trying to ignore how they were beginning to burn.

He was so tired of it all. Tired of fixing problems. Tired of being the one to cause them. Tired of causing worry over something that he could figure out himself.

He looked at his phone, which was near his pillow. At least he had tomorrow to look forward to. His first actual date with Connie. He smiled at the thought let out a long breath. The ringing in his ears lessened slightly.

Maybe tomorrow he could start feeling like a normal teenager. Maybe tomorrow was the day he could put all of this behind him. Maybe tomorrow, the name Steven Universe would mean something again.


	11. Chapter 10: The Big Day

Steven was nervously bouncing on the balls of his feet as he reached up to knock on Connie's door. He healed his hands before he left, but kept the bruise as a reminder to him to keep his power in check. The dull ache was almost a welcome distraction from the butterflies in his stomach.

He was wearing his usual outfit, wanting to keep it casual and not put too much pressure on tonight.

Connie opened the door and smiled at him. The slight blush on her face complemented her periwinkle sundress.

"Wow," Steven said before he could stop himself. "You look great!"

Connie hid her face and stepped outside. "Thanks," she said. "Let's go before my parents stop us for a photo."

Steven ran ahead and opened Connie's door to his Dondai. He closed it behind her before jumping into the car himself.

"Ready?" He asked her, smiling. She nodded and looked out the window, her hands in her lap. "You okay?"

"Huh?" Connie looked over, surprised. "Fine!" she assured him, looking nervous, but happy.

He smiled at her and pulled the car away from her house. "So what sounds good?" He asked her as they pulled onto the main road.

Connie thought for a moment. "Pizza," she settled on, looking over to Steven.

"Pizza it is!" He said. The pair arrived at Fish Stew Pizza, not talking, but the silence wasn't uncomfortable.

"Steven, Connie!" greeted Kiki. "I got a table for you two by the window."

"Thanks Kiki!" Steven said. The pair settled at the table and glanced at the window, suddenly unable to look at each other, though the few short glances caused heat to rise in Steven's face. Judging by Connie's blush, she felt it too.

"So," she said after a second, clearing her throat. "Emerald?"

"Oh!" Steven said. He completely forgot that he used Emerald as an excuse to hang out with her. "Yeah. She came to Earth after tracking the Sun Incinerator," Steven began. He quickly went over how Lars didn't want to give the ship back.

"Let me guess," Connie said. She struck a dramatic pose in her chair and pretended to push back a cape. "You'll never catch us, Emerald!" she said, lowering her voice to match Lars's.

Steven laughed. "You nailed it," he said.

He told her all about how Emerald shot her own ship out of the sky and how he managed to deflect the blasts using his new power.

"So it's like a power boost?" Connie theorized after Steven was done talking. "It makes you stronger and faster?"

Steven nodded. "It's actually kind of cool. It's just a little unpredictable right now."

Connie nodded and was about to speak, but was cut off by Kiki delivering their pizza to the table.

"Enjoy you two," she said before winking and walking off. Connie's face went crimson and she voided Steven's gaze, though he caught her looking at him from the reflection in the window. Steven smiled to himself and cut her a slice before getting one for himself.

"So yeah," he said, leaning back and looking outside. "Another gem wanted to kill me and failed."

Connie sighed. "I should have been there to help. I'm sorry I missed the graduation."

Steven shrugged. "It's okay," he said, honestly. "You had class."

"So why did Emerald want to hurt you?" Connie asked after a couple of minutes of them eating in silence.

"Oh, uh," Steven thought back. "She didn't like the changes to the Gem Empire," he shrugged. "Apparently some gems just can't put the past behind them."

Connie nodded. "It's not that surprising," she mused. "A lot of humans resist change too."

"Yeah," Steven said. "I just wish they wouldn't do it in a way that puts people in danger."

"That's nothing new to us, at least," Connie joked, trying to lighten the mood. When Steven didn't react, Connie reached across the table and placed her hand on Steven's. He jumped and looked over to her.

"You know there's an end to all this, right?" She asked, studying him. "The gems who don't like you will either come around or give up."

Steven shrugged, remembering his dad's words. "Some people just don't want to change," he replied.

Connie nodded. "That doesn't mean you will stop changing," she gently told him. "The Emeralds of the world will realize that too."

"What about the gems that don't want to accept my mom's gone? Or ones that just want me gone? What if more of them come here?" Steven suddenly asked, thinking to Jasper, who respected him more after their fight, but still was bitter about Pink. Or about Pink Pearl, who was forced to deal with her heartbreak and see her scars every day.

Connie shook her head. "Losing someone hurts," she said simply. "But they don't have much of a choice with that. Besides, you did invite them all here to Earth to try and change. Maybe they'll change like your mom did."

He nodded. "Maybe," he mused, unconvinced. After Bluebird, he wasn't so sure.

Connie looked at him gently, but he avoided her gaze. "Steven," she said, squeezing his hand. "You've helped so many people and so many gems. Don't forget about the good you've done just because you can't fix all of the bad."

Steven nodded, but he didn't look convinced. "I've spent my entire life learning about who I am as a Crystal Gem," he started, staring at his own reflection in the window. "I was so sure that I was someone who helped people. Then I learned more about my mom and that went out the window.

"Now everyone knows she's gone, but…" he trailed off, his eyes lowering to his naval. "There's still so much I don't know."

Connie shook her head. "That's part of being human," she told him. "We're always growing and changing and learning about who we are and who we want to be."

Steven looked over to her, something akin to a plea on his face. "What if we're not sure about who we want to be?"

She shrugged, taking her hand away from Steven's and folding it in her lap as she looked down. "We've had so many adventures together that being normal feels strange," she said carefully. "I shouldn't be afraid of the idea of going off to college when I've literally been to space and argued with gem dictators, but I am. I don't know how to start figuring out how to top that."

"Connie, I didn't mean…" Steven started, guilt rising as Connie's voice shook slightly.

She looked up at him and smiled suddenly, shaking her head. "It's okay, Steven!" she reassured him. "I loved our adventures and I learned so much from them. Now I just have to figure out the next step."

Steven nodded thoughtfully. "The next step," he repeated. "What do you want that to be?"

Connie laughed. "Well, nothing can top bringing peace to the galaxy," she joked. "I don't know, it would be cool to be an ambassador for humans and gems. But this is getting too real for me," Connie said, putting her hands up. "So, what have you been up to lately?

The pair spent the rest of the dinner catching up. Connie described her want to get back into sword fighting and her studies about the solar system while Steven told her that he recently learned he disliked cactuses and how Onion was terrorizing him and Pearl.

Steven paid for the meal and the two stepped outside, hand-in-hand, when they nearly ran face-first into Larimar, who had a stuffed animal. He smiled at the two.

"Hello Steven! Connie!" He said. "Connie, guess what I got you?"

She looked at Steven and grinned. "I couldn't possibly," she told the little gem.

Larimar grinned and handed her the stuffed lion. "It's pink. Like Lion. And Steven!"

The gem smiled widely as Connie laughed and held the small lion close to her. "I love it, Larimar," she said.

Steven, on the other hand, quickly checked his free hand, relieved it was not, in fact, pink.

"Can I ask you two something?" the gem questioned, looking between them.

"Sure, what it is?" Steven answered.

"I see humans together holding hands like you two are. What does it mean?"

"Oh," Steven said, rubbing the back of his neck. "It means two people really like each other," he said, vaguely.

"Like I like the screams?" Larimar asked, sounding confused.

"Yeah, sort of," he told Larimar.

Larimar clapped happily. "Oh, I get it!" he said. "It's like Garnet too, yes?"

"Yes," Steven said, face flushing.

"Thank you, Steven!" the ice gem said before running off. "I want to find someone to hold hands with!"

Connie laughed nervously. "What did she mean by liking screams?"

"Excited screams," he explained. "Not scared ones."

"Oh," Connie said, uncertainly. "That's...good."

Steven pointed over to Snowflake. "Want a snow cone? Snowflake's are the best around."

Connie pretended to ponder for a minute before pulling Steven over to the stand.

"Two, please!" She said. Snowflake smiled at them and began working, her ice powers creating one huge sculpture.

"SNOWFLAKE!" Larimar cried. The little gem jumped over and tried to grab the obsidian's hand. Snowflake jumped, her arm flailing and ice shooting everywhere.

"Ow!" Connie was hit square in the face. She pulled her hand away from her face and revealed a small cut under her eye.

Before he knew what was happening, Snowflake's gem was on the ground, her physical form gone, and Steven stood over it, panting.

"Steven?" Connie called, reaching out to him. As soon as she touched him, he spun wildly and knocked her arm away. The force sent her tumbling to the ground.

He watched her fall and he snapped back to his senses. He looked at his pink hand and made a shocked noise. He frantically looked around and noticed Snowflake's gem on the ground. His hand jumped to his mouth and his eyes began to burn as shame bubbled within him.

It suddenly became very hard to breathe as he stared at the black and white stone. He took a step back from everyone, fear mounting in his chest. He slowly looked back at Connie, who was still on the ground and bleeding from her cut.

He did this.

He turned on his heel and bolted.

"Steven!" Connie called after, but he did not stop. In fact, he sped up, running so fast that the seagulls taking off on the beach slowed to a crawl. He rushed home, his body growing hotter with every step.

His speed died suddenly on the stairs up to his home, causing him to stumble. He made it inside, the pink aura was gone, but his body was still overheating.

He raced to the bathroom and leaned over the sink, the cool porcelain slowly growing warmer under his fingers. Staring up at his reflection, he saw panicked eyes and beads of sweat forming. His shoulders shuddered with each ragged breath.

He, Steven Universe, poofed another gem.

"No," he whispered to himself, his hands weaving through his damp hair. "This isn't right. I wouldn't…"

His bruised arm twinged worse than before like needles were puncturing tit and tearing his skin open.

And the heat. He yanked off his jacket, sweat pouring off his back and forehead and beading off his arms. Frantic, Steven turned on the water and ran his fingers under it, doing everything he could to stop his hands from shaking.

In doing so, he caught sight of his bruise. The purple mark had grown, expanded up to his shoulder and down to his forearm. It was blotchy and deeper in color; more a deep pink than purple. His breath hitched and he suddenly found it very hard to breathe.

Was this...could it be? How?

He raised his arm, his hand violently shaking as he took in the sight. He scrambled over to the bathtub and plugged the drain. He turned on the water and frantically grabbed the bottles with the diamonds' essence. As carefully as he could, he put one drop of each into the water and plunged his arm in.

The water erupted into a poof of steam when his arm was submerged and he had to look away to avoid burning his face. He pulled his arm out, but it was still a deep pink.

"No," he whispered, staring at his arm in pure panic. Right before his eyes, it grew. The discoloration slowly made its way to his fingers in a blotchy pattern. His arm shook more violently than before as it began to throb.

With clothes still on, he stepped into the tub and sank down, submerging his gem.

He gasped, the pain only worsening. He held his arm close to his chest and cradled it. Every breath he took was agony. It was different than any pain Steven's experience before. It was a dull burn or sharp sting that happened during fights, it was bone-deep like his very skeleton was shattering and reforming.

Whether it was sweat or tears blurred his vision, Steven didn't know. He just knew he had to get a grip.

Breathe, Steven, he told himself. You can control this. He watched the color stop just before it fully engulfed all of his fingers and slowly stood up and pulled himself onto the bathroom floor. He ignored how his sopping clothes formed a puddle on the ground as he pushed himself forward. Unseen by him, but felt through a deep burning, he knew the discoloration had spread down his back too.

"The Diamonds," he said, turned to the bathroom door and pulling his jacket back over his arm, hiding the damage. "They'll fix this."

He pressed his ear to the bathroom door. Everything was quiet. The gems hadn't noticed he was back yet. He took another breath and pushed open the door. He walked out of the room and was on his knees by the time he reached the stairs.

"Move," he told himself, forcing his joints to slowly crawl until he reached the top. Panting heavily, he collapsed at the foot of his bed, trying desperately to catch his breath. He thought about calling for help, but what would it cost? Their worry would speed along the cor...the process.

He pulled himself up, leaning heavily on his bed and looking down at his clenched fists. Sweat rolled down his face and landed on the bedsheet.

What if being close to him affected them too? What if Snowflake reformed and she was a monster? What if he caused her regression? What if he couldn't fix it this time?

What if he could hurt Connie…

At that thought, he doubled over again, his bones physically cracking and his left hand convulsing wildly. He cried out softly, barely able to see his fingers curl in and become completely engulfed in purple.

He was running out of time. In a rush of panic-drive adrenaline, he stood up and turned, catching sight of his reflection. The discoloration spread to his neck and onto his cheek. His left eye was black where it should be white. Pink where his iris should be.

His breath hitched, but he pushed himself forward. Outside. Up the stairs. Into the warp room.

He stumbled inside, collapsing against the hibiscus plant and knocking it over. The pot shattered, but he paid it no mind. He had to keep moving. With labored steps, he fell onto the warp.

The Diamonds would help. They had to. With a blast of light, he was gone.


	12. Chapter 11: A Fatal Mistake

He heard the commotion in the throne room and managed to force open his eyes and blink through the tears. Bismuths, amethysts, and pebbles were hard at work, patching the large hole. They all turned and let out a collective scream.

"Help," Steven told them, reaching out, but drawing back as he saw their faces. "Get the Diamonds."

"What is going on here?" Blue stormed in, her face frustrated at the excessive noise. She turned to the warp and gasped, her hand going over her mouth. "Oh, stars! Steven!"

She rushed over to him and bent down, reaching down to touch him.

"No!" Steven managed to gasp out. "I don't want to hurt you."

Blue's hand retracted slightly, but she set her face and scooped up the teen easily. She held him close to her gem, ignoring the amount of heat coming off Steven's skin, and looked around. "Get Yellow and White. Tell them to meet me in my chambers immediately."

She walked off before waiting for their response, keeping Steven out of sight.

"How did this happen?" She asked him as she walked.

Steven, who was shivering despite being nearly too hot to touch, shook his head. "I don't know," he whispered, barely able to form words through his ragged breathing. "Lost control."

"It's okay," Blue said, soothingly. "We'll fix this."

She entered her chambers and rushed over to her giant pool. The doors opened behind her before she stepped in. She turned and frowned.

"So you're finally talking to us again?" Yellow's voice boomed.

"Blue, let us explain," White said.

Blue huffed. "It's not that!" she exclaimed, her hand falling and revealing and trembling Steven. He uncurled himself and looked at the Diamonds. Their faces fell and mouths dropped open. "It's much worse," Blue said. "Look what you did to him!"

White and Yellow drew back in shock as they took in Steven's discolored skin.

"That wasn't us!" Yellow said. "White and I can't do that damage alone."

Blue let out a breath, clearly steadying herself. "It doesn't matter," she said. "We have to heal him."

She stepped into the pool of water, but Steven wriggled and violently shook his head at the look of it. "No. Tried that," he whispered. "Made it worse."

Blue looked down at him, shocked.

"A direct approach then?" Yellow asked, rubbing her hands together. "Don't worry Steven. We'll fix you right up."

Blue nodded, her gem glowing and bathing Steven in a calming blue glow. Her hand illuminated and Steven felt coolness slowly traveling up through his body.

Yellow gently pressed her fingers to his back and his tremors eased and it suddenly became easier to breathe.

"It's working," Steven gasped, watching the purple blotches on his skin slowly recede.

White, who had been oddly quiet, slowly approached. She looked repulsed by him, scared of what he'd become.

"I don't understand," White said, peering down at Steven. "How can he be corrupted?"

Corrupted. The word Steven was trying to avoid using. He can't be corrupted. He was half-human. He wasn't blasted by the Diamonds. Nothing happened except that he lost control. He couldn't be.

"White!" Blue cried, but White waved her off.

"In a moment, Blue," she said, dismissively.

White lifted up Steven's shirt and eyed his gem. Her nails ran over the surface and as they did, a new pain burst forward. It shot, white-hot, straight from his gem; a warning to White. Steven yelled out, Blue gasped, her hand jerking out from under him and White and Yellow both pulled back, as it burned.

With Blue no longer supporting him, he crashed onto the edge of the pool, missing the water. He groaned in pain, but truthfully, he barely felt the impact.

"Steven!" Blue exclaimed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." She reached down again, but Steven swatted her hand away. The moment he touched her skin, she flinched back in pain.

White put her hands on Yellow and Blue's shoulder and looked at Steven. The teen was on his side in the fetal position, trembling and panting in pain as the discoloration slowly appeared on his right hand.

He looked up at them, barely seeing their faces through his blurred vision. "Please," he said. "Help."

White nodded. "Steven, I may have a solution. I can keep you calm to stop its progress. Then we'll heal you. Do I have your permission?"

Steven gasped at these words, but he barely had the strength to respond. If White used her power on him, if she connected herself to him, then she would be…

"N-no," Steven whimpered, but the Diamond didn't hear him.

"Just relax, Steven," White said soothingly. "This will help."

The chamber filled with white light and Steven as blasted with a rush of coldness. It started in his gem and slowly spread through its center. And then it stopped, like an ice cube on bare skin.

The scream that came out of Steven when the Diamonds touched him wasn't human. He opened his eyes and looked at them, a pink tint to his blurred vision. He couldn't make out their faces. He could only watch as Yellow and Blue drew closer to him, their hands ready to heal. White held them back, still.

"Not yet," he heard her say as the ice cube grew colder.

His body steadied, but the pain only grew. He felt his muscles searing and tearing, he caught glints of red coming from his hand and intense pain as he dug his nails into his palms. There was moisture dripping from his hand now, but Steven didn't understand that it was his own blood.

He needed to keep the Diamonds from him. He needed White to stop. She was putting herself in danger. He could hurt her. He would hurt her.

"Just calm down," he heard a dulcet tone in his head. That voice wasn't his. He spun around, clawing at his head and trying to rip out the voice. The pressure smothered him; it was a wet blanket, pressing against his nose and mouth; it was a straight jacket, forcing his limbs rigid.

More ice seemed to spread on his stomach and his hands went down to grasp at his gem.

Stop stop stop, he mentally begged.

"It's okay now," the same voice said, louder than before.

Steven's heart pounded so hard it felt like it was going to explode out of his chest. His stomach churned and every inch of him began to shake.

He just wanted it to stop. It was so cold, numbing him to the world around him. Numbing him to everything but the pain he felt. It stopped his convulsions, but his bones still popped, groaned and broke. The voice wanted to help him, but she was restraining him. Locking him away to face this torture alone.

"This is silly," the voice said again. "Let me help you. Stop being stubborn like Pink."

Pink. The color of his vision, the color of the aura withering violently around him. The name of a gem that was long gone. The color of the glow that slowly began growing from the center of his graying gem.

An unsettling calm spread over him as he turned his attention to the white voice.

"That's it," she said, soothingly but Steven sensed her worry. Not worry about him. Worry for herself.

He took a breath and gathered what energy he had left. It was so cold, but he didn't care. The icy tendrils grew and touched the edge of his vision, dulling the pink aura. But he wasn't pink. He wasn't white. He was...

Who was he? He wasn't the savior of the galaxy. He wasn't the one who made things better. That was past Steven. Who he was now was this overly emotional burden who was hurting this he used to help. He was someone who tried to do the right thing but kept messing it up. He couldn't even be a normal teenager.

But he did know one thing. White didn't get to decide who he was. He wasn't her. He would never be like her. She needed to understand.

His gem glowed and heat burst forward, a pink aura covering his entire body and blasting away the white. The same pink light launched itself from his mind's eye and struck the white presence squarely in the head.

The room shook around him as White Diamond, unseen to Steven, stumbled backward. Her hands grasped at her hair, her mouth formed an unheard scream, her eyes and gem still glowing.

Yellow withdrew her hand from Steven and rushed to White, yelling at her to stop and helping her to her knees. She tried to calm White, but retracted her hands in utter shock.

The coldness faded from Steven's gem. He managed to open his eyes and see a large white figure on her knees, fizzling in and out of a single shape. Steven raised his head and struggled to focus on what he had done.

White's form was disfigured; her large hand covering her face, one eye bulging out and the other smaller her Steven's hand. She slowly lowered her hand, revealing a large, deep crack in the middle of her gemstone.

Yellow stepped forward and blocked White from view as Steven struggled, trying to pull himself toward her.

"Stay away from her!" Yellow commanded, her arm raising to protect White.

"N-no," Steven stammered. "I-I didn't..."

White's hand dropped and she pointed at Steven. "You did this," she said, her voice shaking fiercely.

Steven stopped dead in his tracks, his face warped into an indescribable amount of shame and guilt. His mind flashed to Volleyball and Pearl, to Bluebird, to Emerald, to Snowflake's gem and to Connie, pushed to the ground by his own fury. To his mother, faking her own shattering and hurting everyone she loved.

Steven yelled as a sharp pain erupted from his temples and slowly the room began to shrink and dissolve around him.

Every emotion within him was overtaken by the blood boiling shame and rage. He wasn't like Pink. But this...everything he's done recently, maybe he was. Maybe this new power, the pink glow, him hurting everyone, maybe that was just a sign of who he really was. He wasn't better than Pink. He was worse.

He turned his eyes back to the Diamonds. Everything looked like he was staring through a blurry pink filter, but he didn't need to see. He sensed them. Felt their fear as they looked at him.

"He's…" Yellow said, her words just reaching him. "A monster."

Monster.

His eyes fell on the crack in White's gem.

Monster.

To the look on Yellow's face as she stood tall and blocked her fallen family member from view.

Monster.

Yellow's mouth moved, but no words reached him as he stared at what he did. He couldn't have done this. He wouldn't have. But he did. The pain he felt was before was nothing compared to knowing this. It was agony. And he couldn't fix it. He wasn't the Steven they knew. He wasn't the Steven he knew. He was like her. He was...

His vision blurred and fissured, his breath became low and even, and his heart slowed as the single word rang in his head.

Monster.


	13. Chapter 12: Backup Arrives

It was Connie's banging on Steven's door that roused the Crystal Gems from their chambers.

"Connie?" Pearl asked, confused. She took in her quivering and frantic form, the scratch under her eye and the lack of her date. "What happened? Where's Steven?"

"He's not here?!" Connie exclaimed, wildly looking around. "He…," she showed Pearl's Snowflake's gem, which was cupped in her hands. "I think he's in trouble."

Pearl caused and drew back at the sight of her friend's gemstone. She set her face and ushered Connie inside. Connie sat down as Pearl called Garnet and Amethyst to the room.

"Tell us everything," she said, taking control of the situation.

Connie explained how everything was going great when Snowflake accidentally hurt her. She told them how Steven immediately turned pink, formed a bubble around his fist, and jabbed his arm right through Snowflake's unsuspecting form. How he stood over Snowflake's gem, his face devoid of guilt, and how he knocked her down and then came to his senses. How he ran at a speed she couldn't follow.

Amethyst looked to Garnet. "Can you find him?"

The fusion didn't immediately answer. "I can't," she said, her voice blank.

Pearl nodded. "Then we need to start looking. Connie, stay here."

Connie jumped up. "No way, I'm coming too!"

Pearl put her hand on Connie's shoulder. "I know you're worried, but we need someone here in case he comes back."

The teen huffed but nodded. "I'll call you if he does," she vowed, her face was determined.

The gems split up their duties. Garnet would check the Earth warp spots, Amethyst would look around Little Home-School and Pearl would check around the city. All of them glanced at Snowflake's motionless gemstone before heading out the door.

"This is bad," Amethyst said once Connie was out of earshot. "Steven? Poof a gem?"

"I know," Pearl said. "It has to be his new power. We all know his powers are manipulated by his emotions. If it's anything like what he did at the Reef," she trailed off, eyes scanning the horizon.

"We'll find him," Garnet said, face vacant. "He'll be fine."

"Yeah," Amethyst said. "It's Steven after all."

They searched well into the night. No one had seen or heard from Steven since he and Connie left Fish Stew Pizza. They returned home and found Connie asleep on the couch. She stirred when they opened the door. Her face fell when Steven wasn't with them.

She was about to speak when the warp sounded and a flash of light illuminated the sky.

They all rushed upstairs.

"Steven!?" Connie called as the figure took shape.

"Not quite." Spinel stepped off the warp, her eyes wide and face terrified. "He's not here?!"

The gems shook their heads.

"What do you need, Spinel?" Garnet asked.

"Steven!" she exclaimed. "Something is attacking Homeworld! We need backup. The Diamonds...," she trailed off, her eyes filling with despair.

Pearl summoned her spear. "Connie, stay here and wait for Steven. We'll go on ahead."

Connie nodded, knowing she was useless to them without her sword. "You can count on me."

The Crystal Gems all stepped on the warp with Spinel and were gone in moments.

Homeworld was indeed a mess. The throne room was destroyed with a large hole in the back wall and pieces of the roof missing. The gems caught a glimpse of the rest of the planet and saw smoke rising from the city and a line of destruction leading to or from the palace.

"Spinel," Pearl asked. "Where are the Diamonds?"

Spinel said nothing and waved for them to follow her. "Brace yourself," she said as she opened the door to Blue's chambers. The roof had been blown clear off and the bridge leading to it was crumbling, threatening to fall into the abyss below.

The door opened and the gems had their weapons out, but all of them vanished in a poof of light when they saw the scene in front of them.

Two large gems, yellow and white, laid in the back of the chamber with Blue hunched over them, sobbing to herself.

Spinel cleared her throat.

Blue jumped up, her posture ready to defend her family, but she relaxed when she saw who it was.

"What happened here?" Pearl asked the first to regain her composure from seeing the monumental gems poofed. Her hand covered her mouth when she noticed the crack in white's gem.

"It's all our fault," Blue said with a broken voice. "We couldn't help."

"Help?" Pearl pushed, but Blue didn't look at her.

Her gaze was on the destruction behind her, her eyes tearing up as she watched the smoke and pieces fall from the city. "I've ordered the evacuation of the planet. All of the gems should be safe for now," she said.

"Safe from what?" Garnet growled.

Blue turned to them with her sad eyes. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I couldn't help him."

The gems explained glances, but it was Spinel who asked the next question. "Him?"

Blue nodded, looking off into the distance again. "I never expected this to happen. How could we have known?"

Amethyst shouted in frustration. "Yo, Blue Diamond! What. Happened?!"

Blue looked down again. "Right," she said, taking a breath and composing herself. "You all need to know." She took another second as if it pained her to continue. "Steven did this."

"Whaaaaaat?!" Amethyst shouted. "Steven?!"

Blue nodded. "He came to us for help. He lost control and…" she sighed.

"And what?!" Garnet yelled, her fists clenched.

"He turned into a monster."

Silence. A loud ringing silence filled the destroyed chamber.

Blue looked back to the city before she spoke again. "He came to us when the corruption was spreading. We tried to heal him. It almost worked, but White couldn't touch him," she explained. "I don't know why.

"White tried to overpower him," Blue continued. "To calm him down and stall the corruption so we could help. She asked him first," Blue hastily added, seeing the look on the gems' faces. "It was the only way. Steven said he tried using our essence, but it didn't work."

She signed. "White tried, but he fought back. He…" she gestured to the crack in White's gem, her voice breaking as tears overcame her.

"Steven did that?" Amethyst repeated, her jaw dropping. "How?"

Blue wiped her eyes, but her voice was as unsteady as ever. "Yellow tried to protect White, but," she gestured behind her before covering her mouth. She shook her head, the memory of Steven changing into a giant horned beast still fresh. The sound of his pained wails and bones cracking as he grew in size.

She did nothing as White yelled at him in anger. Yellow raised her hand to destabilize him.

And she had just stood there as he rushed at them. She watched helplessly as Yellow stepped in front of her and took the blow. His horns impaled her chest and a pink aura overtook her fellow Diamond before her form poofed.

White didn't even have a chance to raise her arm to protect herself before the creature's tail smashed down on her body.

"And he didn't hurt you?" Pearl asked, finding her voice and breaking Blue out of her memories.

Blue shook her head. "He left after he…" she gestured to the poofed Diamonds. "I don't think he remembered I was here."

Spinel cautiously walked over to Blue Diamond. "So, how can we help him?" she asked her eyes on the carnage.

Blue shook her head. "I don't know if we can."

"We can't just give up on him!" Amethyst said. "He's still Steven! We fought corrupted gems before and healed them. We can do this!"

Garnet pursed her lips. "Steven is different," she said. "He is half-human. It's like Pearl said before: Steven's powers are tied to his emotions. The more emotional he is, the more powerful he becomes."

"But how is this possible?!" Pearl exclaimed. "He can't be corrupted! He's half-human!"

"He can fuse," Garnet said. "He can do everything a full gem can do, despite being human. But a gem corrupting itself?" She shook her head. "That shouldn't be possible."

Spinel toed the ground nervously. "I think it has something to do with his new power. When he came to Homeworld a few days ago," she started, glancing nervously at Blue. "He lost control of his new power and ran off to the garden," she said. "And yesterday, when I visited, he still wasn't okay."

Pearl looked to the ground. "He was like that in the Reef too," she said. "He got so angry hearing about what Pink did to Volleyball that he nearly destroyed the repair chamber."

"But he could control it!" Amethyst countered. "When we were Smoky or when he was fighting Emerald!"

Garnet shook her head. "It might not even be caused by that! We can sit here all day and try to figure it out, or we can go find him."

"Right," Pearl said. "Blue, are you coming with us?"

The Diamond glanced to her fallen comrades, but Spinel stepped next to them.

"I'll keep an eye on them," she vowed. "You go help."

"One moment," Blue told them, her hand glowing blue as she laid it on White's cracked diamond. The gemstone slowly healed, but the Diamond did not reform.

Blue nodded, her face set as she stood. "You'll need all the help you can get," she told the gems, her hands forming into fists. "Let's get our Steven back."


	14. Chapter 13: Facing a Monster

Vague images and thoughts flashed in his mind, but none stayed long enough for him to focus on them. A black and white gemstone. A scared pearl. A crack in a sea of white. A pink figure with curly hair.

Nothing coherent. Nothing worth focusing on.

Everything was calm around him. He no longer felt bone-splitting pain. Come to think of it, he no longer felt much of anything. The yellow and white enemy were gone. It was easy to stop them. Their coldness left him the moment the white one vanished from view.

But he was still cold. Not just in his gem, but his chest. There was something out there causing it. His eyes scanned the cityscape around him, but nothing moved. If he could find the source of that coldness and stop it, he could finally be free.

But no one was here. They all left after he burst through the roof of that blue chamber. They scattered when they saw him. Screaming. A few flying red dots tried to fight him, but he knocked how out the air as easily as if he were swatting a fly.

He slowly moved along the city, not caring about the damage he caused along the way. His large pink talons dug into the ground, his horns scraped against the glass and metal, and his gigantic form barely fit through the narrow alleys. He hardly noticed any of it. His eyes turned to a tall gray tower on the skyline, then to a pink room with an open balcony and to a head-shaped white statue.

Feelings began to rise within him, especially as he stared at the tower. Loneliness. Desperation. Sorrow. Ones he couldn't tether to any memory, but they were there, creeping in and stalking their way into his conscious mind.

Then he realized why. It was because of her. The person who made him this way. But if he wiped every trace of her from the planet, the cold would go away. No one would think of her anymore. She would be lost to time; lost to him. And he would be able to leave the past behind.

He made his way over to the tower, his breath quickening with an almost sickly excitement. He wanted to see it on the ground. To see the bricks shattered into dust.

His speed picked up and clouds of debris rose behind him in his wake. He reached the tower and was about to crash into it before he turned last second, his tail swinging high. It bashed into the tower, logging itself into the base and leaving a significant dent.

More, he thought. He grabbed into the tower with his clawed fingers and tore into it. Pieces began to fall as cracks compromised the structure. One bounced off his head and shattered against his horn. Immense satisfaction grew within him, a warmth that spread into a smile on his spreading face.

More.

A small stinging pain in his side distracted him from his next assault. He whipped around and saw a small figure lashing a purple whip against him.

"HEY!" the figure called. "STEVEN!"

He lowered his head to look at the insignificant purple speck and huffed. His breath pushed the hair out of her face and she suddenly looked very sheepish.

"Uh...hey dude," she said, waving.

He raised his head and looked away. Her words meant nothing to him, just a garbled mess of sounds. But this feeling in his chest. The coldness. The feeling that he knew her and that she knew him. That she knew _him. _Or knew who he used to be. He had to squash it.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The gems didn't have to look hard to find signs of Steven. The ground shook and the isolation tower where Pink was so commonly locked in began to crumble. At its base, the Crystal Gems saw a flash of pink.

They rushed over, occasionally stumbling from the force of the attack. Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet slid to the stop, gasping in terror.

The monster was a deep pink and lizard-like, with diamond-esque large horns prominent on its head and poking through its jaw. Spikes lined its back and sides and lead down to its tail. The monster towered over Blue Diamond, who watched it apprehensively.

It stood tall as it squared its shoulders to bash against the tower again.

Amethyst pulled out her whip and jumped up, whapping her weapon against the monster's leg to get its attention. She had to know.

It worked.

"HEY!" she called. "STEVEN!"

The monster lowered its face and Amethyst saw similarities to her friend. The face shape. The nose. The diamond-shaped pink irises. It really was him.

"Uh…" she said, feeling his hot breath blow over her uncomfortable. "Hey, dude." She waved sheepishly. "Sorry about hitting you."

But Steven raised his giant head, clearly not listening to her anymore. His eyes glinted maliciously, which was the only warning Amethyst had before his leg rose and smashed down above her.

She jumped away, falling on her butt as the ground shook.

"I don't believe it," Pearl said, eyes on Steven. "How is that Steven?"

"It doesn't matter," Garnet said, teeth clenched. "We have to get through to him." She summoned her weapon, looking at Pearl to do the same. "We need to fuse," Garnet said.

The Crystal Gems nodded and took hands, glowing brightly. Blue stepped back, the look of disapproval on her face as Alexandrite appeared before her, but she kept quiet.

The fusion put its fist on the ground and roared before launching itself at Steven, who just watched them. Four of her hands grabbed into the spikes on his back and the other two summoned a weapon. Pearl's spear stabbed his back, spraying the fusion with blood. Human blood.

Alexandrite drew back, her hands covering her mouth as she realized this wasn't a normal corruption. Steven wasn't a normal gem.

Steven roared in pain and he turned violently. Alexandrite barely held on and grunted as the centripetal force threatened to overtake her. Then a shadow came over her as Steven slammed his back into the tower.

Unfused, the Crystal Gems clung onto their friend still, hanging onto his spikes for dear life.

Steven fell to the ground, revealing that although he could stand on his hind legs, his movements were more reptilian-like as his long neck stretched to try and glimpse the gems on his back.

Garnet stared at the dripping wound, horror on her face, Pearl looked on the brink of tears. Amethyst refused to look at it.

"We can't fight him," Garnet said. "We'll hurt him."

"He'll hurt us!" Amethyst suddenly yelled, pulling herself up to stand unsteadily on one of spikes. "What are we supposed to do?"

Blue yelled, catching Steven's attention before he could raise onto his haunches and slam the gems back into the tower again. He turned to face her, huffing in annoyance.

"I don't know," Garnet said. "We can't poof him. We have to heal him, like this."

"But that means bringing him to Earth," Pearl said, had over her mouth. "To Rose's Fountain. Garnet, we can't!"

Garnet looked up at the monumental beast in front of her, who was taking Blue's attacks like it was nothing more than sand hitting his skin.

"We don't have a choice," she said. "Amethyst, run ahead of us. Get Connie and Greg to the fountain. Let them know what's happening."

Amethyst was about to protest when Garnet gave her a hard look.

"Okay," she said. "Just be careful." She hopped off Steven's back and used her whip to grab onto a spire. She rolled onto a ramp below them and ran off, unnoticed by Steven.

Garnet let out a breath. "We have to keep it together," she said to herself as she looked at her bloodstained hand. "For Steven."

She and Pearl jumped up his back and slowly climbed to get to his head. They hung onto his horns and each stomped down. When that didn't work, Garnet slammed her fists against his head and Pearl pricked his rock-hard skin with her spear. Steven bucked up, clearly not noticing them until now. He looked around wildly, the gems hanging on for their lives.

Blue used the distraction to launch herself at him. The force sent Steven falling back against the tower, which finally collapsed backward under the weight. Pearl and Garnet leaped off, narrowly dodging the falling rocks.

They landed, thick dust obscuring Blue and Steven. When it cleared, Blue brushed herself off and slowly standing, using a building to support her. Steven's tail was visible, poking through the debris.

"Well, that was effective," Pearl said, looking over to Garnet. "Is he okay?"

The debris rumbled and shook as Steven pulled himself out. One of the spikes on his right side was splintered and broken and scratches littered his body, but he looked otherwise fine.

"He's fine," Garnet said through gritted teeth.

Steven's roar shook the entire city. The gems clapped their hands over their ears and watched as his gem glowed brightly. A pink aura spread over them.

Immediately, their hands began to shake and brows furrowed in a pained rage. Pearl looked to her spear and lost sight of herself. She wasn't a friend to this beast. She was a warrior.

Pearl shouted charged recklessly at Steven, her face warped and twisted. She had to stop him. Enough was enough!

The pink monster turned to her, eyes glinting brightly as Pearl jabbed her spear into his leg. It was no more than a pinprick of a wound to the monster. She used her spear's staff to launch herself up into the air and summoned another one, using them as points to jump from to climb the monster.

She finally reached his face, having launched herself in the air in front of him, and the anger quickly left her body. The monster grinned at her, his mouth opening.

What had she done?

He snapped at her, her form nearly dissipating as her fangs cut into her, but the pink aura held her together. She screamed, feeling pain that she wasn't sure was hers. Steven threw his prey into the air and Pearl watched his eyes land on her gem.

He reared his head back, lowering it so his horns followed her path.

"Steven!" she yelled, helpless as he lunged forward.

Out of nowhere, Garnet appeared next to her, pushing her out of the way. Pearl fell to the ground, watching Garnet unfuse a second before the horn pierced her.

Ruby plummeted to the earth and Sapphire dropped down, the wind showing her single eye, which was pointed at the monster.

Ruby landed on the side of a building and ran, jumping over large gaps and catching Sapphire before she hit the ground. Pearl righted herself and rushed over to them.

The pink aura was still bathed over them. Pearl's hands shook, but the anger she felt was nothing compared to her shock of what just happened. Ruby was grumbling lowly, her feet engulfed in flames. Sapphire was silent, ice appearing under her dress. They watched the scene above them, unmoving.

Blue lashed back out at Steven, hitting him squarely in the chest with her power. It knocked him back and the pink aura faded.

"Ruby, Sapphire," Pearl gasped as the anger left her body. "Are you two okay?"

The smaller gems took hands and Garnet reformed, looking more composed.

"We're fine," Garnet said. "Are you?"

Pearl couldn't answer, her hand reaching up and touching her gem. "I'm fine. We need to get him to Earth before he…"

The monster looked down at them suddenly, tears in its eyes from Blue's power. They saw its eyes widen ever so slightly as it looked at Pearl as if it heard her and knew her before it huffed and turned away from them.

It sprinted away from the tower, ignoring their calls and attempts to get his attention. Ignoring Blue stomping on his tail. Ignoring Garnet slamming her fists down on his toes. Ignoring Pearl's mournful shouts.

Its eyes were set on the warp pad to Earth.

"We need to stop him!" Pearl shouted, trying to keep up as she ran. "Garnet, we need to fuse!"

Blue slammed her shoulder into Steven, who stumbled sideways. He turned to her and roared in her face, his tail whipping against her face. Blue stepped back and waved her hand. Lights burst above her and shot down at Steven, who looked like he barely felt the impact.

Garnet didn't answer Pearl, her fists clenched and eyes on the still oozing wound on Steven's back.

"Garnet!"

She turned and looked at Pearl and Blue and the monster clashed once again. She nodded and threw Pearl into the air, catching her and forming Sardonyx.

"Well hello everybody!" Sardonyx said. "What a monstrous crowd we have tonight."

Blue was forced away from Steven and she crashed into a building, out of sight. He turned to face the new fusion, who didn't even come up to his shoulder. He lowered his head to get a closer look.

Sardonyx grabbed the monster, two hands on the horns on his jaws, two holding spikes on his side. She dug her heels into the ground as he tried to throw her off. Luckily for her, it had to dig its front claws into the ground to prevent her from overturning him.

"Oh no you don't," Sardonyx said, grunting with effort. "Aren't you a pushy one," she laughed at her own joke, but the monster roared and tried to snap at her.

"Nobody likes a critic," she told him. Her heel meeting the edge of the stadium in front of White Diamond's ship.

Blue pulled herself up and grabbed Steven's tail. She yanked him back. The pair pushed and strained, and slowly, his claws began to dig into the pavement and move backward.

"That's it!" Sardonyx said.

Steven roared, inhuman and ear-piercing. The fusion and Diamond cringed but held on. Steven bucked back and yelled out, new horns jutting out of his side. Blue yelled out and backed up rapidly, holding her hand to her chest. New spikes formed on his tail. He slammed his tail against Blue's chest and knocked her away once again.

"Uh oh," Sardonyx said. "Looks like we're in a prickly situation."

Steven suddenly lunged forward and whipped his head and body around violently. Sardonyx was thrown into the air and forced to summon her weapon as the monster lunged up to meet her. Her hammer met his horns. The right horn cracked and shattered off, Steven bucked back in pain and shook his head violently.

Sardonyx landed and aimed another blow at his cheek.

The monster ducked last second, the hammer flying over his head. He burst forward at the fusion from below and knocked into her, his intact horn impaling itself into her stomach.

"Oh," Sardonyx said before disappearing in a poof.

Pearl and Garnet fell, landing heavily. The monster turned away from them and headed to warp, which was exposed by the giant hole in the throne room's wall.

Blue didn't reappear. Pearl and Garnet could barely stand.

Nothing was in his way.


	15. Chapter 14: The Fight For Earth

One word reverberated through his mind. Earth. When that skinny one said it, a burst of familiarity hit him. When he looked down at the gem to find out why he knew that word, that _place_, something more grew inside of it. The coldness. It filled his entire body the second he saw the look in her eyes and her hand covering her pearl.

It had to be because of Earth. That had to be the part he was missing. The thing that would destroy this icy chill inside him.

Their attempts to stop him only made him more sure. He needed to get there. To Earth. He needed to stop this feeling. It wasn't like anything he knew; he didn't have a word for it. It just cut through him and the wound it made opened him up for such an indescribable pain that he needed to stop.

He felt drawn to a destroyed chamber, the one with a monumental white chair that was split in two. He stepped into the room and looked, eyes landing on a pearlescent piece of flooring. How he knew that would take him to Earth, he wasn't sure. He just did.

He made it to the warp and stepped on it, just barely fitting if he wrapped himself up tightly. It was small. He was big. He stepped over to it and willed the room to grow in size around him as his figure shrank. When he stepped on it, he was no bigger than the yellow enemy he vanquished.

Earth, he thought again, looking skyward. A beam of light consumed him and the destroyed throne room vanished. He patiently waited, though the hunger in his heart grew with every passing second. It gnawed at his chest; each beat painful as the coldness within him throbbed. He would feel warm again soon.

The light ended and pain met his skull as he crashed through a low ceiling. He looked around, slowly reforming to his larger size and watched lights twinkle beneath him.

The floor beneath his feet cracked and he fell through, but what was a two-story drop to others was a mere stumble for him. Wood splintered and groaned as he smashed through it. His feet finally met solid stone and he stepped onto the sand below, not even glancing at his destroyed home.

Screams. He looked over to the sparkling lights and saw little specks darting away from him, arms in the air and yelling loudly. He watched them run; a flash of a cape, a little blue gem with pointed hair, a pink gem with spots on her body, a small human surrounded by two small red dots. As he watched, the chill inside of him grew until he couldn't help but yell out in agony.

All of the dots stopped in fear, looking at the pink monster before slowly backing away again.

He huffed loudly, unable to stop the coldness from growing within him. He took a single step toward the panicking crowds when something small hit him in the side of the head.

He looked over and saw a small green speck launching gray objects at him.

"Hey!" the green one yelled. "Over here!" The green dot ran behind the mountain. Her cackle sounded familiar.

He followed her, the chill only getting stronger with each step. This gem. She was important. Getting rid of her would lessen this feeling.

So he followed her, sprinting as quickly as he could and slowly gaining ground. She had jumped onto a silver disk and was speeding away in the air. He wanted to lunge out but knowing he couldn't reach her yet. They neared new structures, one with spinning fans and a warp in the center, before he felt it. Something latched onto his chest and yanked him back. He looked down and saw a splash of blue.

Water?

A small blue gem soared in front of the green one, her hands out in front of her and clenched. He pulled at the watery chains, breaking one set, only for it to be replaced by three more.

"What is that thing?" Lapis asked, the pink monster taking the rest of her concentration.

"I don't know!" Peridot yelled. Bismuth and the other Crystal Gems slowly appeared, weapons in their hand. "It warped here! We have to stop it!"

He stopped with a huff, having ignored the annoying mumbles of those below and looked down to see a small army of gems forming in front of him. They all were armed. He looked up to the buildings they came from and then back down to them. Most of them were odd looking; spotted and with horns.

Corrupted. Like...like hi-

The cold overtook him and he finally had a name for it as a single thought rang in his ears. Desperation. Shame. So overwhelming that all he could do for a split second was stare at the gems, their faces swimming in and out of focus.

His next thought was more compelling; less painful to think. Hurting them will stop this feeling. Getting rid of them would get rid of this shame. They would never look at him like this again. No fear in their eyes. No disgust. He would never have to see it again. Never have to feel again.

He roared loudly and let loose an attack like nothing the gems on the ground had seen before. At its force, Lapis's water chains shattered and fissures appeared at his feet. The fissures grew and quickly overtook Little Homeworld. Several gems fell in but hung on to the splitting ground before they fell into the dark depths.

As the fissure hit the center of the town, Little Homeworld began to collapse in on itself. Lava spewed out of Bismuth's forge and landed on some roofs, instantly igniting the city.

The Little Homeworld warp activated as Pearl, Garnet, and Blue arrived, but the smoke concealed who it was. The gems on the ground either scattered in fear or regrouped and charged at the pink monster before them.

Steven looked down at them, the glow of the fires doing nothing to stop the icy burning in his chest. But his gem was warm as rage emanated from its core. They couldn't stop him. They couldn't make keep feeling this way.

A pink aura burst forth and covered the field in front of him. Some gems collapsed, their heads in their hands before they poofed. Others dropped their weapons and ran. Some still rushed forward, anger contorting their face and controlling their actions.

He smiled to himself. This would be too easy.

The blue gem launched herself up at him, as she circled his head and formed a fist with one of her wings. The impact barely knocked his head aside. She tried again, getting more reckless as each hit seemed to do less damage to her foe. Then she got too close to his horn. He rammed into her, barely missing the gem on her back as his horn impaled her body.

She gasped, her eyes focusing with recognition as his pink aura spread through her body. "Steven?" she whispered before her form poofed.

Her gem fell to the ground but was caught by the little green gem, who was floating on some sort of silvery sphere again.

She glided off, glancing behind at the monster and landed a good distance away.

He turned his attention back to the gems below him. The ones that stayed were either trying to scale his body or were attacking his feet. He didn't feel any of it. But he did feel...what was that?

His head snapped up as a blue aura raced over his own. He turned his head to the side to block it out and growled lowly. So she was back. The one that made the chill grow beyond his chest and leak out of his eyes. He watched the tall blue figure emerge from the smoke, the pearl and purple fusion at her feet.

An idea formed in his muddled thoughts and a smile broke through his angered exterior as he looked up at the sky.

Make her hurt, he thought. His eyes glowed pink and glinted brightly. Make her feel like this. Make her understand.

The warp lit up again and the gems spun to look at it as the monster lifted its head toward the light.

"White!" Blue called, but something was very wrong. The orange glow of the fires barely hid the pink tint to her skin or the glowing pink light in the middle of her gemstone.

She launched herself at Blue, pinning her to the ground with a growl.

"No!" Garnet yelled, pulling Pearl away. "Steven's controlling her!"

Blue threw White off of her and narrowly dodged a beam of pink light that erupted from her eyes.

"I'll handle her," Blue vowed, standing tall. "You take care of Steven."

Pearl and Garnet nodded, leaping forward and joining the small gem army. They raced over poofed gems, trying not to stare at them for too long.

"Peridot!" Garnet shouted. "Get these gems out of here!"

Peridot, who still had Lapis's gem in her hand, nodded. She raced off, gathering all of the gems she could in her trashcan lid before zooming off to safety.

"Pearl," Garnet said, looking at the pink monster, who's eyes were fixated on Blue and White. His tail lashed out and knocked the gems at his feet away. He raised himself onto his haunches and smashed down, scattering those too close to his chest and neck. A few poofed on impact.

"Get Amethyst over here. We're going to need her," Garnet said.

Pearl nodded and summoned her phone from her head when a whirring sound reached her.

"You guys need a hand?" Amethyst yelled, her form a helicopter. Greg and Connie jumped out of her head before she reformed. "We could see the smoke from the fountain," she said. "I couldn't convince these two to stay back."

"That's…" Greg said, eyes wide as he took in the monster before him. "Steven?"

Connie said nothing. Her sword was now in her hand, but it dangled loosely at her side.

"Yes," Garnet said, voice stern. "We need to get through to him or subdue him long enough to get him to the fountain."

"Will that help him?" Greg asked.

No one answered. With Yellow still being absent, White mind-controlled and Blue in danger, they didn't know how effective it would be.

"We have to try," Connie said, the grip on her sword tightening.

Behind them, a raspy voice yelled. "Hey! What's going on?"

Jasper. She looked at the monster with disgust on her face. "What'd you guys do now?"

"That's Steven," Connie told her. "You still want to fight him? Now's your chance."

Jasper drew back, looking almost scared. "That's Steven?" she said, incredulously. "How?"

"Corruption," Pearl answered.

Jasper said nothing.

"Will you help us, sis?" Amethyst asked, gently.

Jasper shrugged, brushing the fear from her face. "I've got nothing else to do."

Garnet nodded. "Connie, stay with Greg. It's too dangerous."

Before she could protest, the four gems ran off to join the fray. Connie put her hand on Greg's arm and looked at his shocked face, which was fixated on his son.

"Don't worry, Mr. Universe," she said. "We'll help him."

They watched the Crystal Gems fuse and form Alexandrite. They watched her grab Steven's spikes and arms and forced him to the ground. She pinned him briefly before an unseen force knocked her off. Her feet dug into the ground and narrowly avoided a deep fissure. She charged again, a whip with a large fist at the end forming in her hands.

The fusion stopped and used her momentum to force the whip forward. It whipped around Steven and knocked him square against the side of the head. Greg covered his mouth when a pained roar, one that very much sounded like an animalistic version of his son, reached them.

The monster stumbled, but it grabbed the whip in its hands and pulled. It snapped and vanished. It lowered its head as Alexandrite pulled out Opal's bow.

"Don't," Greg said, seeing the giant weapon aimed at his son.

"It's an energy blast," Connie assured him, though she wasn't sure how it would affect Steven either.

But she never got the chance to do more than draw the bowstring back when Steven let out an inhuman scream. Pink waves shot from his body, breaking the fusion on impact. As it hit each gem, they all fell to their knees as the luminescent pink lines appeared on their body from where the wave hit them.

Then it reached Connie and Greg, who expected it to pass through them as gem powers so often did. Connie doubled over, her very heart feeling like it was freezing as unimaginable pain overtook her. Greg fell to his knees beside her and covered his chest with his arms.

She looked up and saw the monster that was her friend slowly look over at them, eyes glinting with an emotion she couldn't recognize.

Steven roared again and another pink wave burst forward. This time, the two humans collapsed on impact, unmoving, as countless gems poofed on the battlefield in front of them.

The only ones left standing were Blue, White, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl, barely held themselves together. The force of the attack nearly split them in to, but it was the emotions and coldness behind it that kept them fighting. They needed to reach the boy they loved.

But still, as they stared at the monster in front of them, as they watched his face turn to them and a grin spread across his face, doubt came over them all.

"He doesn't know us," Pearl said, slowly taking a step back. "We can't get through to him."

Amethyst, who was still panting, took Pearl's hand. Garnet stepped next to them.

"No," Garnet said. "But we still have to try."

She summed her weapon and nodded at the others to do the same. Together, the three of them stood in the shadow of the monster. Together, they attacked.


	16. Chapter 15: A Corrupted Identity

Connie groaned, her eyes opening to a dark room. She looked around, seeing Jasper and Greg stirring beside her. What was this place?

"Guys?" she called out, vaguely hearing the Crystal Gems fighting in the distance, but her voice echoed eerily in the large room. She looked around and gasped, seeing a large statue-like figure of Steven, gray and lifeless, with a small pink glow standing on top.

"What's going on?" Greg asked, looking at his hands, which were transparent. "Are we dead?"

Connie shook her head. She recounted Steven's retelling of the situation to her, how each of his friends' consciousnesses stood on top of their unmoving physical forms. This had to be the same thing. "No. It's a classic psychological ghost situation," Connie said. "Steven did it when the Diamonds first arrived on Earth."

"What's a ghost?" Jasper questioned. "And why am I here?"

Connie looked at her, eyeing the green spots. "Maybe because you've been corrupted too?" she guessed, shrugging. "It doesn't matter. We have to get to Steven," she said, pointing at the pink glow. "Maybe we can help from here."

The three nodded, though Jasper begrudgingly, and watched Connie propel herself forward by swimming through the air. Greg raced after her and Jasper came up the rear, her face uneasy.

As they neared the height of the statue, the three stopped. Steven was indeed there, but it wasn't quite him either. Iridescent horns shone in his forehead, though the right one was cracked and broken, his left eye was blackened and his iris was pink and pointed, like a diamond. Deep pink blotches were all over his face, hands. and neck, covered by a pale pink aura.

And the stare, unseeing and unfeeling. She shuddered at it. Connie remembered that blank face well.

"Steven?" she called out, her voice echoing. He didn't look at her, his eyes still staring fixed at something Connie could not see.

"Shtuu-ball?" Greg tried, floating closer to his son and reaching out his arm, despite still being a good distance away. "Can you hear us, buddy?" His voice shook as he looked at his son, barely recognizable under the influence of corruption.

"HEY!" Jasper said, angrily pounding her fists against the air when Steven didn't react. "Stop ignoring us and let us out oh here!"

Pink Steven slowly turned and stared at her. Nothing changed in his face. Not even a stir of recognition.

"Yeah, that's right!" Jasper said, smirking to herself. "Show us some res...huh?"

Steven turned back to stare in front of him again before she finished talking.

"STOP THAT!" Jasper yelled. "Look at me!"

"Stay back," Steven said, his voice distant and emotionless.

Jasper growled, her fists clenched and helmet appearing on her ghost-like body. "I don't take orders from you," she growled. "You are not my Diamond!"

Steven's neck snapped over to look at her. "No, I'm not," he said. "Stay back."

Jasper pushed herself forward. "Make me," she goaded.

A sickly smile grew on Steven's face. Connie and Greg drew back slightly from it; the horns protruding from temples, the coldness in his eyes and the sickening amusement in his grin. The slow growth of a dark mark on his neck as he stared at the gem in front of him.

A pink aura burst from the teen, coming in waves and striking Jasper. She yelled, violently forced back, her hands clutching her head.

"STOP!" Connie yelled, watching Jasper wither. "Please!"

Steven glanced her at for the first time and the smile dropped from his face.

"Hmm," he said. The pink attack stopped and he looked ahead of him again, ignoring the group once more.

"Are you okay?" Greg asked, cautiously approaching Jasper.

She pushed him away with a huff. "It will take more than that to stop me," she grumbled, though the bravado from her voice was long gone.

"We need to get through to him," Connie said.

Jasper chuckled. "Good luck."

"What do you mean?" Greg asked.

"That's not the Steven you know,' Jasper said, pointing. "That is a monster."

Greg angrily grabbed Jasper by the arm. "That's not a monster!" he yelled. "That's my son!"

Jasper gave him a look. "I've been a monster my entire life," she said. "I know one when I see one. Wait, what is she doing?"

Greg turned to see Connie rushing forward to the corrupted teen.

"Connie, wait!" he said, but this time Jasper held him back. "Let me go!"

She didn't; she forced him to just watch Connie approach his son. Steven glanced at Connie through the corner of his eyes, his face furrowing slightly in annoyance.

"Steven, please," she said, stopping just feet from the boy. "I know you're still in there. Let us help you."

Steven was still facing straight ahead, though his eyes were pinned to Connie.

"You know me, remember?" Connie said. "I saw you like this before. In White Diamond's head. I helped you then, let me help you now."

"You can't," Steven said, still watching her closely. "Stay back."

"No!" Connie said, "I won't. You're my friend, Steven. More than that. Please."

Steven sighed and turned to face her. Connie was almost relieved to see he looked more annoyed than amused.

"Please, Steven, just take my hand. We can fix this," she said, slowly getting closer to him.

Steven pursed his lips and shook his head. He looked at her hand, just a mere foot from him. If he wanted to, he could take it. His face softened and morphed as if fighting to remain neutral.

Connie held her breath, watching Steven slowly raise his hand, but he stalled, his fist curling just inches away from Connie's.

And then he laughed. Slow, quiet, unfeeling. Connie was thrown back, the force hitting her like a wall.

"I'm not your friend," Steven said. "Not anymore."

Her eyes filled with tears and she doubled over, Steven's rage boiling inside her to the point where that's all existed. She didn't hear Greg calling out to her and didn't feel his hand on her shoulder.

She watched the pink mark under Steven's left eye pulsate and grow, reaching up to his forehead as he watched her squirm.

"St-stop!" she yelled, but he didn't. The weight on her chest pushed into her skin. She felt a burning heat seep into her chest and wind its tendrils around her heart. She gasped out, curling into a ball, fists tightly pressed against her chest as the searing pain made it hard to breathe.

There was a coldness hidden in the burning. One that planted itself in the middle of her heart and throbbed dully with each beat. Connie tried to focus on it, to recognize what it was.

Then, it ended.

She opened her eyes, panting. She and Greg were far from Steven now, who was staring deadly at her. She met his gaze and flash of pain seemed to appear on Steven's face, but she blinked and it was gone.

"I won't give up on you, Steven!" she called.

The teen shrugged slightly and turned back, his finger raising to point at something they couldn't see. "Then you'll end up like them," he said, voice detached. The fight suddenly became louder and the Crystal Gem's screams rang oddly in the chamber. They called out for Steven, grunted in pain and called each other's name in warning.

"Pink was never like this!" They heard Blue Diamond yell as a brief flash of blue brightened the chamber.

"Pink," Steven grumbled, nearly inaudible. His pink hue burst from him and spread around him, tendrils lashing out like a violent shield. Blue's yell of pain caused them all to cover their ears before the sounds were deafened again.

The aura lashed out and struck all of them, causing them to yell in pain.

Connie felt the coldness again, more prominent this time, as it pierced through her body. It was shame. A terrible feeling that threatened to overtake her; she didn't deserve what she had. Everything that she managed to build was just a lie, a desperate attempt to mask the pain she caused in the past. To fix a problem that she started. A problem that she was now cursed with. Something she couldn't fix.

The more it grew, the less Connie felt like herself; the less certain she was about who she is.

Connie looked at her body, horrified to see a dark pink line where the tendril had hit her trembling hands.

Visions flashed briefly in front of her eyes, all of them too quick to figure out what was happening. A fake shattered gem. Lapis fighting to stay fused with Jasper. Pearl's crying face. Ruby and Sapphire split up. A pink injector. A black and white gemstone discarded on the pavement. A scared Volleyball, cowering and covering her cracked eye. A crack in a large white gemstone. A pink figure with curly hair, staring at him without remorse in a white chamber.

Connie looked over at Greg, who had raised his arms to shield himself. His eyes were wide as he stared at the damage and then back to his son.

"Steven," he whispered, voice cracking slightly.

Jasper slowly raised her head, her hand covering a large pink blotch on her chest that was left by the blow.

"So that's it," the gem whispered, hand pulling away from her chest. She turned to Greg and Connie. "You two," she growled. "Get ready."

Connie blinked. For what? Wasn't fighting this hopeless? Didn't they deserve to feel this way?

Jasper lunged forward at the unmoving Steven, who didn't notice her until her hand entered the pink aura. She was forced back with a grunt, the pink marks spreading across her body. She huffed painfully but lunged again. Steven slowly looked at her again, his face showing how done he was with her.

The gem was thrown back again, nursing her arm. But she kept trying.

Connie blinked again. Jasper? Fighting for Steven? And what was she, Connie, doing? Sitting here, shaking like a scared child instead of helping her closest friend. The cold's grip on her lessened.

She clenched her fists and grabbed Greg's arm. "Now's our chance!" she said, pushing him forward.

"Pathetic!" Jasper yelled, having Steven's full attention. "You don't want to be her, but look at you! Forcing others to feel like she did. Hurting them like she hurt me!"

Rage took over Steven's face. He yelled out, the scream high-pitched and barely human and a horn burst forth from his right cheek, a drop of blood running under it. Jasper was thrown back, her hand covering her gem. The pink tendrils touched the edges of it.

"You can't control me," Jasper yelled, pushing forward again. She spun, her body becoming a glowing yellow spiral and propelled herself toward Steven. He simply raised a hand and she crashed into the aura, just an inch from his outstretched hand.

Her spinning stopped and she gasped, being held in place, facing the unbridled rage on coming from the corrupted teen.

"You can't hurt me," Jasper spat at him. "I've felt this way before."

Steven's face fell slightly and his eyes landed on her gem, then to the scars left by corruption. His mouth became a thin, tight line and his eyes softened slightly. The deep purple blotch on his forehead grew as recognition appeared in his eyes.

"Jas.." he whispered, but Connie's yell cut him off.

"Now!" Connie shouted. She surged forward, her hand grabbing onto Steven's shoulder. Greg grabbed his arm, the pair desperately trying to hang on as the aura grew in force, pushing and battering them, trying to knock them all away.

Jasper fell onto the statue's head with a huff as Steven's attention turned to the two humans. She saw the two struggle and forced her way around to them. She stood behind them and wrapped her arms around both of their backs and braced herself.

"Keep...pushing!" she groaned, taking the brunt of the force.

Connie and Greg looked at her, amazement on their face.

"Don't look at me!" Jasper yelled. "Fix him!"

They turned their attention back to Steven, who was looking at them over his shoulder, his face twisted in horror, rage, and pain.

"LEAVE!" He bellowed, the force enough to knock the wind out of them, but Jasper braced them. They still held on.

"Steven," Connie begged. "Please stop!"

"Come on, bud, let us help you," Greg said, his eyes tearing up at his son's actions.

The force behind the attack faded. But the coldness overcame them all. Connie fell to her knees, her hand falling off Steven, but Greg stayed standing. The pink tendrils on their bodies glowed fiercely. The ones on Jasper's face cut through her gem.

She fell to one knee, her eyes wide and hand covering her gem.

"You can't," Steven said again, his voice breaking, but he didn't look away from them. He watched Connie and Jasper cower, watched the tendrils on the gem's face form a crack-like shape around her eye. He turned away suddenly.

"It's my problem," Steven said, his face straining to remain neutral.

"But it's not," Connie gasped, lifting her hands. "It affects all of us."

Greg put his hands on his son's shoulders, noticing how the boy was unresponsive, though he felt his body shaking slightly.

"Steven, we made it through so much worse together. Remember when Jasper and Peridot first came to Earth? You risked your life to save your friends. You faced them head-on, despite not having the best control of your powers.

"Or when Aquamarine came here," he continued, his voice was gentle even though the chilling aura raged around him. "You sacrificed yourself to the Diamonds to save us."

Greg wrapped his arms around the boy from behind and held him, feeling him shake more violently.

"Stop," Steven whispered, his eyes staring deadly at the ground in front of him, but his voice wasn't cold or distant anymore. It was the voice they knew.

The battle outside was loud again, but it sounded different. Quieter. Blue was talking, but they couldn't hear her words.

The aura lessened around them and Connie and Jasper stood. Connie grabbed Steven's hand and held on, despite him trying to yank it away.

Greg felt a drop of moisture land on his arm.

"You faced danger time and time again," Greg continued. "You nearly got killed to save your friends."

Jasper laughed coldly. "That's something Pink would never do," she stated, crossing her arms. "Trust me, only you're dumb enough to do something like that," she stated.

Steven suddenly stumbled forward, as if something knocked into from behind. He looked back, staring through them, eyes wild. He yelled, an animalistic sound mixed with humanoid panic.

"Steven?" Connie said. She grasped his shoulders. "What's going on?"

He didn't answer, his fingers weaving into his hair as he continued to yell out, clearly fighting something they couldn't see.

An inhuman sound of thousands of voices melded into one being reached them. They couldn't make out what they were saying; it just sounded like screaming.

"Stop!" Steven yelled, the chamber blinking between pink and black as he struggled with something unseen. He shook violently, tears streaming down his face and eyes clenched tightly closed. The chamber glowed pink around them, but they felt nothing as it bathed them in its glow.

Greg pulled his son into a hug, not knowing what else he could do. "I got you," he said.

The chamber suddenly shook violently and threw them all forward. Steven landed on all fours, his breath ragged. Pink light showed through the cracks, some violent and deep, some light and calming.

Steven looked over to them, panic in his face. "Go," he whispered, his voice strained, but it was filled with emotion and recognizable.

Connie carefully took his hand in hers. "We're not going anywhere," she told him.

"No," Steven said, pushing himself away from his dad, his voice rushed and panicked. "You don't understand. You..." he screamed, a blast of pain hitting them all. It was like their insides were being torn apart, like they were breaking into pieces.

The chamber shuddered and dust fell around them. The cracks in the wall furthered, bathing them in the dual-tone pink light.

"Steven?" Connie said.

The teen looked up at her and Connie drew back in shock. His face. The pink aura surrounded it was cracking. Steven gasped out again, his hands covering his stomach.

Steven growled and an unseen force slammed into them, knocking them all away from him. He raised his hands toward them, face contorting in pain and effort as the crack in his pink aura continued to grow and splinter, covering his left side.

Pink waves came from his body, but they were different from before. Warmer. Shielding.

"GO!"

They were forced back and everything turned black as the chamber around them began to collapse.


	17. Chapter 16: The Only Way

The three crystal gems were battered and exhausted, but they pressed on. They had to subdue him. Any damage they did, the fountain would fix.

Pearl's spear jabbed into Steven's side, but it was a pinprick compared to his size. She jumped away before his foot could crush her.

Steven, she thought, watching the monster ignore Garnet as she pummeled the side of his head. His eyes were on White and Blue, who were still locked in combat not far from them. The sky lit up with blue and white, telling the gems all they needed to know about the state of the scuffle.

Garnet landed on the spikes that jutted out from Steven's jaw and yelled out Pearl, who jumped out of the way just in time as his tail lashed out toward her. The fusion watched Steven's gemstone bathe them all in pink light and felt the anger coursing in her veins. Her Ruby-side screamed and bashed her fist into Steven's cheek, enraged at the thought of her friend suffering at her hands. The Sapphire in her reminded her to hold on when Steven whipped his head to the side, trying to dislodge her.

Amethyst was jumping and using her whip to propel herself unnoticed up Steven's back. The rage her chest was different: Steven had always been there for her and she neglected to be there for him. She should've have pushed him more the other night when she noticed how crestfallen he looked. But she didn't. And now, it was her fault. She had to fix this.

The purple gem reached the top of Steven's head and looked at Garnet in warning before she whipped her weapon right into Steven's left eye.

The monster roared in agony, stumbling to the side and nearly missing Pearl, who was dancing between his feet. The white flashes from the Diamonds' battle that colored the sky seized and Steven violently bucked his head back, dislodging both Garnet and Amethyst.

Amethyst lashed out her whip and it wound itself around the spike on his jaw before she fell. She held on for dear life as Steven shook his head, trying to clear out the tears forming in his irritated eye.

Garnet fell to the earth, leaping off his side spikes and rolling. She turned and watched Amethyst get thrown around like a cat toy.

Steven lowered his eyes to them, one red and watery, not seeing the gem under his cheek. His eyes glowed pink and a beam of light flew out of them. They both jumped away, now dodging more than fighting.

Amethyst, still unseen, climbed and stood on the bridge of Steven's nose. When she got there, the assault of pink light stopped and he looked at her, crosseyed and glaring.

"Hey dude," she said, snapping her whip back and aiming at his eye again. "Sorry about this."

Behind them, Blue was given a moment of reprieve as White froze, her stance animated like she was about to fire another volley of attacks. Blue knocked the white gem down, watching as she fell, unmoving, like a statue, to the ground.

Blue took a few deep breaths, eyeing her closely, but the gem matriarch didn't move. Blue looked to Steven, who was completely focused on the Crystal Gems now and understood. They were no more than pebbles to him, but they still fought and hurt him enough to distract him from White.

The only remaining Diamond braced herself before stepping over the rubble around her and toward the fight. The pink aura enveloped her and rage flared in her chest, fueled by her sorrow of hurting her family.

"This ends now," she said, her teeth gritted and hands curled into fists.

Steven whipped around to face her, his foot rising to slam down onto Amethyst, who was flung off Steven's head moments ago and dazed.

"Pearl!" Garnet shouted.

Pearl threw her spear with deadly accuracy and it embedded itself in the sole of Steven's front right foot. Steven yelled out in pain, his foot retracting and slamming onto the ground just feet next to Amethyst.

Pearl helped her to her feet and together, the two of them became climbing Steven's scales again. Garnet wasn't far behind them. Together, they all leaped in the air, hands coming together with the intention of fusing and using their momentum to knock Steven to the ground.

But Steven watched them carefully, his eyes following Amethyst's gem. He lowered his head, his horn glinting as the fires of Little Homeworld continued to rage on behind them.

Blue ran in and grabbed his horns before he could lunge forward and shatter Amethyst.

Alexandrite was back. She slammed her fists against Steven's head and he nearly lost his balance as he stumbled sideways. Blue raised her fist, which glowed with her power, to meet the underside of his jaw.

Steven took a step back, shaking the tears out of his eyes. The gems barely had time to register the pink glow in his eyes before they all braced themselves. They were thrown back at his inhuman scream; the ground beneath them burst open and the lighthouse in the distance crumbled the moment the wave of destruction hit. The ocean rippled and water was forced into the air, spraying the gems, who struggled to stay fused.

Blue's foot fell into one of the crevices and she nearly tumbled in, but Alexandrite grabbed her arm and heaved her forward.

"We have to stop him!" she yelled at Blue when the pink light receded back into Steven's gem. "He'll destroy the city."

"I don't know how," she said, voice strained. "Pink was never like this."

Steven's head snapped down to Blue and before Alexandrite knew what was happening, Blue was being thrown into the air. Steven had charged at her and his broken horn grazed against her gemstone and scratched against the surface.

Blue yelled out in pain, her cry echoing against the barren field. Her hand dropped from her gem. It was scuffed, but not cracked.

Then, Steven stopped. He looked at Blue and something flashed in his eyes. He lifted his head and took a step away from her.

"Steven?" Blue whispered cautiously. Steven blinked and took another step back, fear spreading across his face. It suddenly became very clear that Steven knew exactly who was talking to him.

Blue held out her hand to him and ignored how it shook slightly. "Let us help you."

His eyes dropped her hand and he lowered his head slightly as if submitting.

Out of nowhere, the very ground beneath them shook violently. They all turned just in time to see a hand appear from the horizon. One made of multicolored muscles and tendons. A limb that towered over them all and blocked out the faint light of the rising sun.

The Cluster slammed down on Steven's back, causing him to stumble forward. Steven whipped around to face a new threat. Alexandrite and Blue were forgotten. The giant hand threw a punch at Steven, who dodged and grabbed the Cluster around the wrist.

The Cluster yelled out, thousands of voices screaming in pain. It tore itself free and slammed all of its weight down. Buckling under the pressure, Steven collapsed to the ground, unable to stand.

The Crystal Gems unfused. Amethyst and Pearl looked confusedly at Garnet, who stepped forward. She remained silent as she watched Steven struggle against the Cluster like a cornered wild animal.

Bright light behind them told them of another gem's arrival on the warp.

"Yellow!" Blue yelled. The Diamond ran forward and met them, Spinel on her shoulder.

"Well, it looks like we got here just in time," Yellow said as Steven rammed his horns into the Cluster. They all cringed as it yelled in pain, but it didn't let up. She made to take a step closer to the fight.

"Wait," Garnet said, her arm outstretched.

Steven's struggles got more violent; he bucked, roared, clawed and tore at the Cluster. Its strength seemed to be failing, something not unnoticed by the pink monster. Steven turned suddenly, his stomach now facing the sky and he let out that terrible inhuman scream.

The Cluster took all of the pink blast as the arm slowly began to be enveloped in a rosy light. It withered, its form fizzling in and out of existence and its voices screaming in unison. Blue and Yellow both raised their hands, ready to fend off Steven once be broke free.

The Crystal Gems did not summer their weapons. They only watched as the Cluster formed a fist and brought it squarely down on Steven's stomach, right onto his gemstone. Its yells of pain turned into grunts of anger and desperation as the pink aura covered its entire form. Steven roared in pain, his eyes wide. The Cluster slammed it's elbow onto his tail, pinning him there. He twisted and fought, but the Cluster's fist always met its mark.

It slammed against his gem again, trying to stop the pain it was feeling by attacking the source.

Amethyst summed her whip and was about to run forward when Garnet's hand covered her own.

"But it's going to...!"

The horrible cracking sound of a diamond breaking met their ears. It was followed almost instantaneously by an indescribable scream of pain.

Unseen to the gems, Connie, Greg and Jasper all bolted upright, as if electrocuted. White Diamond pulled herself up, her hand on her forehead as the pink tint to her skin faded.

"Steven," she whispered, her hand falling to her heart as she stared at the corrupted teen with soft eyes. For a brief moment, his pain was hers. His fear of hurting his friends like his mother had, his shame at being associated with someone like Pink, his lost sense of self; she understood it all.

The Cluster went in for one more attack, but Yellow intervened, her power coursing through the giant hand like veins. It shrieked and retreated, the pink hue leaving its skin before it burrowed back into the center of the Earth.

Steven's form shuddered and shrank; his cracked gem unable to maintain such a monumental form. His bones cracked and reformed as they became more humanoid; the sound causing all of the gems to cringe in worry.

His hands clutched at his stomach as his form doubled over. He stopped shrinking by the time the Crystal Gems got to him. He was still more monster than human, barely smaller than Yellow and Blue.

He looked at them, face contorted in pain, rage, and recognition. The pink light that enveloped his body faded into his gemstone, which pulsed rapidly, only exacerbating the crack.

His eyes met Spinel, who jumped down from Yellow's shoulder and walked over to him.

"Wait," Pearl called out, but Garnet held her back.

"This is the only way," Garnet said, her teeth clenched and face strained.

Spinel walked over to Steven's gem. The gem was pulsing with pink light that threatened to overtake their friend's body again. She glanced up at Steven's face and saw the plea in his eyes.

"Sorry, Steven," she said, pulling out the rejuvenator. "I know I said I wouldn't do this to you."

Steven closed its eyes and let his head fall to the ground with a thud. His breath was labored as Spinel raised her weapon. She took one wild swing and brought her scythe down over his gem. Immediately, pink tendrils spread over Steven and he shuddered uncomfortably. The light in his gemstone went out and the cracks stopped forming.

Unable to hold the form any longer, Steven shrunk to his normal size and shape, unmoving. The scars of corruption covering his entire body, horns protruded from his head and one from his jaw, and small blood pools formed under him from his many wounds. Everyone was silent as they watched the teen. The only sign of life was the unsteady rise and fall of his chest.

Greg's shout broke the stunned silence.

"Steven!" Greg ran over, Connie at his heels. Garnet snapped out of her stupor and carefully picked Steven up, his broken gem facing the sky. He let out a small groan of pain and Garnet's arms shook with emotions she refused to succumb to.

"It's not over yet," she said shortly, before turning and walking to the Little Homeworld warp. "Come on."

"If this doesn't work," Blue started as her eyes dropped to the teen.

"It has too!" Pearl said, desperately.

"It will." They all looked up and saw White standing over them, her starry cloaked tattered from her fight with Blue. She looked down at Steven, her face soft. "I understand now," she said, not explaining anything more. "Come on, we haven't got all day."

She stepped aside and revealed the warp pad behind her. The Crystal Gems stepped on and vanished. The Diamonds followed shortly after.

Wordlessly, Blue, Yellow, and White stepped into Rose's Fountain and Garnet gently placed Steven in and let him go. He sunk below the surface and out of sight.


	18. Chapter 17: We'll Do This Together

The coldness gripped his heart and his eyes burned from tears as the memories played over and over in his head. Larimar. Nephrite. Biggs. All of their gems, poofed after being forced to live through feeling corruption again.

Snowflake. Yellow. White. Bismuth. All poofed at his inability to control himself.

Pearl. Lapis. Nearly shattered because he couldn't recognize her through his anger.

He could hardly breathe and the world behind his closed eyes began to spin as he floated in the darkness. His stomach cramped and lurched as he struggled to draw in air. Air that wasn't there.

His eyes shot open. Water. He was in water. Panicked, he flipped over and forced himself upwards, towards the light above him. He broke the surface, gasping for air and coughing. His entire body ached, his vision was blurred and he was barely able to stay afloat.

Where was he?

He felt something support him from beneath and it lifted him slightly so he was on submerged by an inch or so of water. He fell forward onto his hands and knees, unable to stand as he tried to catch his breath.

"Steven?"

He wiped his hand across his face, trying to compose himself. He looked down and saw a giant white hand keeping him afloat. His right hand was his normal skin tone. His left hand a large pink spot on it.

He raised it, ignoring how it shook and turned his arm over, following the discoloration around his forearm. His heart pounded against his ribcage as he looked at his other arm, his feet, chest; anywhere he could see. Most of it was normal, though some scars remained. His hand went through his hair and down his face.

Thank god, he thought, letting it fall. At least he didn't still have horns.

"Steven?" He jumped, having forgotten about the call, and looked over. The Diamonds were smiling gently down at him. He started to talk, but White shushed him.

"I get it now," she said, soothingly. "You don't need to apologize to me."

Blue and Yellow nodded down to him. "Or me," Yellow said. "In fact, I'm impressed you managed to get the better of me. It's been a few millennia since I've had to reform."

"I…" Steven said, his voice raspy.

"Apology accepted," Blue spoke over him, smiling. "We're just happy to have you back. As are they." Blue pointed behind them and Steven noticeably braced himself before he turned to face his friends.

"Steven!" Greg shouted. In an instant, his dad was splashing into the fountain and climbed onto White's hand. He embraced him tightly. "Welcome back, bud," he whispered, voice shaking.

Was he back? Steven wondered, eyes falling to his gem. Or was that part of him just waiting to burst forth once he fought off the rejuvenator's effect?

Greg pulled back and held his son at arm's length, noticing his lack of response.

"Hey," he said. Steven looked up at him, his fear written all over his face. "No one blames you," Greg said. White moved her hand over to the edge of the fountain and let the other gems move closer to the two.

"Steven," Garnet said, stepping forward. "How did this happen?"

He didn't want to talk. He turned away from her, not looking at any of them. They wouldn't understand. And if he opened up, would it happen again? Would he lose control of himself? Would he hurt them?

"Steven," Connie pushed past Garnet and knelt next to him. She took his hand, an action that made a tear roll down Steven's cheek. He moved to wipe it away quickly and took another breath. "Hey," she said, using her other hand to gently turn his face toward hers. "It's okay," she whispered. "You can talk to us."

He looked over to the gathered gems. To Pearl, who sat on the edge of the fountain and was watching him with love in her eyes. To Amethyst, who had her feet dangling in the water and was leaning forward to be closer to him. To Garnet, who was standing above him like a protector.

He looked to his dad, who smiled at him and rubbed his back comfortingly. To Connie, who gripped his hand tighter and nodded to him.

"I…" he started again, choking on his words as the floodgate broke. "I'm sorry," he finally forced out between choked sobs. "It was my problem. I didn't want anyone to worry about me. I thought I could handle it."

Now that he was talking, he couldn't stop himself. His words tumbled out, barely coherent, but everyone understood. They all nodded along, having felt what he had during the corruption, but now finally able to understand why.

He told them everything. From his fear surrounding his new power. To losing control. To his emotions amplifying and blocking out reasoning. How he didn't even know what he was doing half of the time. How he barely knew who he was, even now.

He stopped, unable to continue as fear gripped him again. What if it happened again?

"Steven," Greg said when his son wasn't able to continue. "I see so much of your mother in you, but I don't see all of her in you."

"That's right," Pearl said, reaching out and putting her hand on Steven's arm. "You share her compassion, but you use it to accomplish things she never could."

"If I may," White said, bending over to bring her face closer to the group. "Steven, I was never proud of your mother. She was always a thorn in my side." She looked down at Steven and smiled. "I am proud of you, though. I only wish you weren't so stubborn."

Garnet growled at this, but White laughed lightly. "You always have to be the hero, don't you?"

Steven hunched his shoulders, his eyes falling to Spinel, who toed the ground.

"I told you so," she said. "Let others save the day from time to time, will ya?"

"Steven," Garnet said, reading his expression of guilt. "None of us blame you." She knelt down and met his gaze before smiling and tossing his hair. When Steven didn't smile back, she retracted her hand. "Talk to us," she gently told him.

"What if it comes back," he said, his hand falling to cover his gem, unable to hold it back any longer. "When my powers come back, what if I can't control it?"

"You'll be able to if you let us help you," Garnet said, her visor flashing. "Your powers are connected to your emotions. Don't keep it bottled inside."

"Yeah, dude," Amethyst said. "You're always helping us. It's about time we returned the favor."

Pearl nodded at him too. "That's what we're here for," she said.

Steven didn't respond. His eyes fell to the corrupted spots on his arm and he sighed. He would always have this mark, he realized. Everyone would always be reminded of what he could become. Who he could become.

Connie's free hand covered the mark. He looked up to her.

"No matter what, you'll always be Steven to me," she said. She pecked him on the cheek and his face flushed red. "So next time, we'll deal with it together, okay?"

He looked at her and allowed the warmth from his face to spread into a small smile.

"Okay," he said, with resolve behind his voice.

Connie smiled and stood. She held out her hand to him. Steven took a breath and took it. He tried to stand, but his legs gave out from underneath him. His world spun and his body screamed in protest. He fell to his knees with a groan.

"Woah," Greg said, hands steadying him as Steven fell onto his knees. "Easy there, you've been through a lot."

Connie got back down and put her hand around his waist.

"Come on, let us help," she said. Steven looked at her with thankful eyes and put his arm over her shoulder. Greg grabbed Steven too and together, they stood, the two of them supporting most of the teen's weight as he tried to steady himself.

Garnet helped them step off of White's hand and onto solid ground.

Steven hesitated as he looked back to the warp pad. His memory was hazy of everything; he hardly saw the destruction he knew he left, but he remembered the screams, the smell of smoke and the blurred images of rubble and destruction. Connie and Greg looked at him, but it was Garnet who approached him and spoke first.

"You can do this," she told him.

"That's right," Pearl said, softly from next to the fusion. "Remember, we're right here."

Steven nodded and Amethyst walked over to his left side and gave him an encouraging smile.

"Right. We'll do this together," Steven said, taking a shaky step to the warp.

… … … … ... … … … … … … …

A month had passed since the incident. Beach City was bustling, Steven's house was nearly repaired and Little Homeworld was back up and running, thanks to the help of all of the gems who lived there.

Steven sat alone under the shadow of the repaired lighthouse, eyes scanning the city as people went about their day. Only a few of them knew the truth about that night and the rest just chalked it up to another random gem attack that they all had become so accustomed to.

Those that knew still greeted Steven with a smile and a wave, never once holding it against them. After all, they all knew how corruption changed them. They all understood that it wasn't entirely him.

He pulled up the sleeve of his jacket and eyed the deep pink mark near his elbow. It had shrunk in size since that day and the color faded slightly over time. Pearl guessed it was because human bodies naturally healed themselves, while corruption is permanently written into a gem's makeup. Regardless, it was still there. A reminder he kept covered but was slowly coming to terms with.

A long breath escaped his lips as he leaned back and enjoyed the cool breeze.

"Steven!" He looked over and smiled as Connie ran up the hill.

"Hey Connie," he called. She sat next to him and leaned against his shoulder. He smiled at this gesture, which had become normal for the two of them now. "What's up?"

Connie shook her head. "Nothing," she said, looking at the city. "I just have some time off, so I wanted to come see you. How are you?"

Steven smiled at her. "I'm okay," he answered, honestly. "Just thinking about what happened."

Connie looked at him, eyes serious.

"I'm fine, Connie!" Steven said, raising his hands in a gesture of peace. "I swear. It's just weird to think about."

"How so?"

Steven sighed, trying to put it into words. "I don't know," he eventually said. "It's like learning something about yourself that you wished you never knew. But now that you know it, you'll never be the same and it makes you a stronger person, even though you wish you didn't have that part of you."

Connie looked at him. "You wish you weren't corrupted?"

"Obviously," Steven laughed humorlessly. "But that's not it. It helped me understand a part of myself. A piece I had been missing."

"What's that?" Connie asked.

Steven smiled at her before looking up to the sky. "You all," he said. "I was so used to solving everyone else's problems that I thought I could handle my own. I thought that if I reflected my problems onto my mom, then it would be easier to fix. But it wasn't," he said, his hand still over the corruption scar.

Connie reached over and gently took his hand away and instead cupped it in hers. He turned to look at her again.

"Steven," she said slowly. "We'll always be here for you. We all love you."

Steven raised his eyebrow at her and she immediately turned fuschia. "I mean, we all care about you! You're like family to us. I mean, not family to me, that would make this really awkward. I like you and everything, but love? I don't know about that yet. I mean, I do love you, but not in that way! We're not even dating and..." she rambled on and Steven shook his head at her, a large smile on his face.

"Connie," Steven said, cutting her off with a laugh, his face growing hot. She stopped talking and looked at him, eyes wide and nervous. "I like you too."

Her face went even redder, which Steven didn't think was possible.

"You've been there for me since the beginning," Steven said, smiling. "You stuck with me through all of the pain and helped save the galaxy with me. When I was corrupted," he paused slightly, the word still stung to say. "When I was corrupted, I reached out to you to help."

She looked at him, not daring to interrupt.

"I don't remember much of it," he admitted, looking away as he thought back. "When I attacked the Earth, it was because I wanted to stop feeling scared and ashamed. I didn't know why, but I knew the Earth was the answer. When I sensed you, dad and Jasper there, I remember feeling something in me connect with you three."

He continued on, still looking away from her. "Jasper because she was mourning something she didn't understand and her emotions led her to make the decision that corrupted her. Like me. Dad because he was familiar, even in that state."

He turned back to her and smiled. "And you because when I sensed you, I felt warm. Like I knew you were someone who could help. Someone who I could trust."

Connie looked at him, a teasing gleam in her eyes. "Is that why you blasted me in the face the moment I got there?"

Steven chuckled darkly. "I hit you in the arms," he joked, but it was still clearly a painful subject for him.

Connie smiled at him. "Well, I am glad I could help."

Steven weaved his fingers between one of Connie's hands and smiled at her. "You do a great job at it." He was silent for a minute and cleared his throat nervously. "Do you remember that night we hung out before Emerald visited?"

Connie nodded. "Yeah. We hung out all day and then I had to run off. Why?"

Steven rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well...uh," he started, blush creeping into his face. "That was the best day I've had in a long time. You helped so much and then you left before I could kiss you," he forced out, watching Connie's eyes widen. "Was that something I could have done then?"

Connie just stared at him for a moment, her face red again. "It's something you can do now," she said, shyly.

Steven blinked at her, taken aback and heart pounding so loudly in his chest that he was sure Connie could hear it.

"Is...is that something you...?" he started to ask, but Connie rolled her eyes and leaned in and pressed her lips gently to his.

It took Steven a moment to process what was happening before he wrapped his arms around her, his heart full.

A loud sudden boom pulled them apart. They looked around, blushing wildly.

"There!" Connie pointed to a cloud of smoke blooming near Little Homeworld. Distant screams reached them, telling Steven it was more than just an accidental explosion.

Steven sighed and stood. "There's always something," he said. He held his hand out to Connie and pulled her up with him. "Wanna go check it out?"

Connie nodded. Steven closed his eyes breathed in through his nose. A warmth spread through his body as a pink aura covered his skin. He looked over at Connie and pecked her on the cheek before picking her up.

"Hold on!" he told her. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I'm ready!" she said.

Steven smiled and ran, time seemingly slowing down as he leaped off the edge of the mountain to face their next adventure.

… … … ... … … … … … … …

**_Author's Note: And that's it! My plot bunny is officially dead and I can finally rest easy with it out of my head. _**

**_Remember, your friends love you. Your chosen family is there for you. You're never as alone as you may think you are. Let them support you just as you support them. It's okay to not be okay. 3_**

**_Thanks for reading. I hope you all enjoy the rest of Steven's story in Steven Universe Future. _**


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